


Sinister x Mortal Kombat: End of Realms [Season One]

by Son_of_Achlys



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games), Mortal Kombat - All Media Types, Mortal Kombat - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Violence, Multi, Sexual Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 08:32:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 50,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15553749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Son_of_Achlys/pseuds/Son_of_Achlys
Summary: Before the first Mortal Kombat Tournament, a great evil plagues the land. One by one, warriors are murdered, souls are corrupted and bodies vanish. Beyond the Kahnum, the primordial darkness known as Sinister Maharana invades the seven realms, intent on absorbing all that exists! Will the Forces of Earthrealm be enough to stop him? Will he meet his match against the Elder Gods? Or will The One Being finally be restored through the unwitting avatar of the Nether? Delve into this three-part adventure to see who will be the last one standing!





	1. Shattered

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a series where my OC from elsewhere, Sinister Maharana, will be invading different canons as a new evil for familiar characters to face. Sometimes, he'll win and sometimes, he'll lose but I aim to make it entertaining and respectful to the source material. He's a primordial evil that ultimately wants to collect followers for his dark cult, destroy those that go against him and assimilate all inbetween. Hopefully, you'll enjoy some or even all of the story to come and, if you do, leave a kudos to let me know you liked it!

     The Elder Sub-Zero, Bi-Han,  had just spoken to Earthrealm’s Thunder God Raiden concerning his recent subservience to the sorcerer Quan-Chi. Upon realizing the danger Quan Chi posed with Shinnok's Amulet in his possession, Bi-Han returned to the Netherrealm to take back the amulet and stop his evil schemes. Bi-Han ventured through the realm and approached the Krossroads, a split road of stone over the sea of lava. Quan Chi's floating fortress was a mile out from the road and surprisingly empty of his flying servants.Even still, Bi-Han didn't want to remain in the realm longer than he needed to.  As he approached the beginning of the road, something came to his attention that forced him to stop. He could sense that someone was following him, even when his surroundings suggested otherwise.

     “Who goes there? I am no fool and you do not have the aura of the sorcerer.” Bi-Han backed himself against a pillar of stone that jutted from the molten ground. He soon saw that his shadow refused to follow him. His own shadow began to shift and morph before his eyes as it stood upright to face him. Two heterochromatic eyes stared him down: one red, one yellow. The voice that came from the shadow seemed to embody all of Netherrealm, but only Sub-Zero could hear its ominous tone.

     “I have not yet devoured this world but I soon shall, ice warrior. I saw your discussion with the being you call Raiden and believed that this would be the best place to start securing my authority among the realms.”

     “And just how would you have seen my discussion with the Thunder God, creature?”

     “You both cast quite the shadow. Wherever the darkness is, so am I. But you need not worry about that.”

     Bi-Han arched his brows, frost falling from his visage during his approach toward shadow being. His voice was defiant, his fists clenched for kombat. “You refuse to identify yourself and try to enforce your authority upon me? I am Sub-Zero, Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei. No one holds authority over me!” In a show of his cryogenic power, Sub-Zero channeled ice along the ground near his feet, then slid toward the shadow with his shoulder poised to strike. He was shocked to find that he passed right through the strange shadow, which then disappeared into vapor. “Wha---?! This realm, it must be taking its toll on me. Creatures from this place will do anything to satisfy their sickening desires. I must get the amulet from Quan-Chi.”

     Bi-Han started down the road to Quan-Chi’s fortress.

     Bi-Han entered Quan-Chi’s torch-lit throne room, lanterns producing a secondary glow. There was a small library beside the seat where Quan-Chi rested, the sorcerer staring down Bi-Han on the opposite side of the room. In the center of the throne room was a large summoning pool filled with dark and viscous liquid. The room itself was massive but Sub-Zero wasted no time closing the distance. “Quan-Chi! I am here for the amulet. You would do well to give it to me.”

     Quan-Chi’s normally pale skin turned red from laughter. “Bi-Han, you have already accomplished your mission. There is no need for you to be here. Begone from this place or you shall receive the gift fitting of your insolence.”

     In response, Bi-Han shouted  a nonsensical phrase that was meant to be a threat. “Watchi Dooga!” He formed a dense sphere of cryogenic energy in his palms, shifting his body forward to launch it at the sorcerer.

     Quan-Chi waved his left hand and a green aura swirled about it. From the aura, a flaming green skull emerged to clash with the ice blast. He too uttered an odd, nonsensical phrase. “Matteo Mandeiei!”

     As the two forces collided, a powerful shockwave shook the fortress. Bi-Han’s rage grew as his walk evolved into a full-fledged sprint to Quan-Chi’s seat. Suddenly, as he was charging up another cryogenic blast, Sub-Zero’s feet became locked in place near the summoning pool. “Hnnggkk! Ngghh! What sorcery is this, Quan-Chi?! Release me at once and face me like a warrior!”

     Although he was relieved that Bi-Han had been stopped, his face took on a quizzical expression as he stood from his seat. “Silence! This is no sorcery of mine.” His eyes fell upon the bubbling surface of his summoning pool just a few feet away to see a masculine figure rising from it.

     His hair was colored platinum, wound tightly along his scalp in the form of cornrows, his skin a dark, sandy shade of brown with heterochromatic eyes, one red and one yellow. An inky black mask covered the upper portion of his face, leaving only his eyes and forehead exposed. His body was tall and formidable like a tree revealing itself from the swamp. His skin was fused with a black substance that shifted between hard and soft, almost like an alien ink. His body was dotted with holes that glowed with an eerie crimson energy. Bioelectricity danced around his figure from their origin. Nails painted black, a finger raised to point at Quan-Chi, its voice that of the shadow from earlier. “Your sorcery could not hope to match my power, pale wizard. “

     Furious, Quan-Chi raised his hand to open a swirling portal above him and spoke an incantation for summoning. “Werdo Parama Kohifa!” In response to his utterance, a flying bat creature barreled at Sinister, its high-pitched screech resonating throughout the chamber. Sinister raised a hand in response to the creature, slicing through its body with his fingers. As it fell into the summoning pool, Quan Chi had already begun speaking another incantation.

     “As I said before, your sorcery could not hope to match my power. Now---” Crimson electricity crackled violently around his body, rippling through the liquid. The pain of his electric power transferred to Quan Chi while Bi Han looked on, still trying to free himself. Electrocuted by this strange force, Quan Chi took a knee, panting while giving Sinister a grimaced expression. Sinister could only smile as he continued. “---give me the amulet and I will leave you to wallow in this place.”

     “Who---hngk...who are you to order me? This realm is mine, as is this amulet. Leave this place or suffer the penalty of de--” His speech was cut short, blood erupting from his lips after feeling something shake his body to the core. The sorcerer looked down to see a large hole had been burned into his sternum, seeing Sinister’s finger smoking and glowing an intense orange.

     “I did not come here for conversation, wizard. Perhaps, in another time, diplomacy would have been acceptable but humanity has shown me that will not work. I have to speak the language of the savages in their land. That said, have I gotten my point across?” Sinister watched Quan Chi stumble and fall to the ground beside a regal-looking window, fit to overlook the desolate plains of the Netherrealm. Sounds of frustration and pain flowed from his mouth but no words. Stepping from the still summoning pool, Sinister took a moment to turn and face Bi Han before continuing his short trek to Quan Chi. Standing a few feet away, he looked to the sorcerer as he was attempting another incantation, hand pressed on the wound. There was a green flash by the window. Sinister kicked him over onto his back, jamming his right heel into the hole. Quan Chi had never howled in so much pain.

     “GAAAAAAAAAAAH! Who---nghkk!---aagghh!---wh-who are you?! Are y...you working...with Shao Kahn?!” Every word was a further catalyst for Quan Chi’s agony, his eyes riddled with uncertainty and rage.

     Sinister’s hand morphed into a large bladed instrument similar to a butcher knife. In moments, the bladed hand extended with quick precision to pierce Quan Chi’s skull, pinning his body to the floor. “I tell him I’m here for the amulet, he refuses to give it to me. I tell him I’m not here for conversation---” Sinister‘s hand retracts, spilling the sorcerer’s brain matter along the tile floor, skull pieces crumbling from the blade’s impact. “---and he acts like it is. What a fool.” Sinister knelt down to take the amulet from Quan Chi’s belt, only to feel it crumble in his hands. A fake. In that instance, the rest of Quan Chi’s body started to decompose rapidly, leaving nothing but a skeleton in Quan Chi’s clothes.

     Bi Han laughed, still struggling to move from having his feet fused to the ground by Sinister. “Hmph! It seems as though that is a quality you both share. Now release me, creature!”

     Sinister exhaled through his nose, his hand reforming back to normal while he turned to Bi Han. “Not until I insert my presence into this world. Into you, ice warrior.” As he approached Bi Han, the Lin Kuei Grandmaster summoned a dense orb of ice.

     He brought his fist down to shatter it and sent a cryogenic shockwave across the chamber. Bi Han was free from the strange paralysis, looking on to Sinister’s now frozen body.

     “As I said before, no one places authority over me!” Cocking his right fist back, he launched it into Sinister’s sternum, shattering his body into frozen chunks across the room. Standing victorious, he looks around Quan Chi’s chamber, disappointed that the amulet the sorcerer had was a forgery. “Where could he have hidden it? Mmm...if it is not here, then perhaps he still remains in this realm. Knowing Quan Chi, his escapes from death have been far too generous to assume him  dead.” As Bi Han continued to rummage through Quan Chi’s belongings and chamber , there were multiple crackling sounds that echoed throughout the area before silence took over. He turned about to see that the large chunks of ice had melted, leaving puddles throughout the room.

     Brushing off his hands, he felt a small cut on his knuckles. He ultimately ignored it. “I have to find Quan Chi and return to the Lin Kuei. The amulet must be returned!” He departed from Quan Chi’s base, leaving a room filled with ice and blood.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

_Two Years Later_

 

     “Kombatants, I am Shang Tsung. In the coming days, each of you shall fight. Some of you were brought here of your own volition. Some of you, by chance. You participate in the most important Mortal Kombat in history. This tournament, the tenth after nine Outworld victories, will determine Earthrealm’s fate. If you defeat all of your opponents, you will face one final challenge: Me.” These words came coated in a malicious confidence from an elderly man standing over an oriental throne, the rest of the area following the same Far-Eastern design. Rows of masked monks sat a level beneath him, dressed in white robes and patiently awaiting to see the first kombatants.

     Standing with Shang Tsung were Kitana, Jade and the Tarkatan leader, Baraka. Among the kombatants seeking to determine the fate of their realms were Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, Raiden, Sektor, Cyrax and Reptile. Quan Chi stood with a warrior clothed in yellow, Scorpion, while Bi Han stood at the opposite end of the short courtyard with his fellow Lin Kuei warriors. There was a definite change in Bi Han’s demeanor, becoming the primary entrant for the Lin Kuei due to his immense strength and mastery of cryomancy. However, there was a growing, unrepentant nature to how he fought, more lethal than usual.

     As Johnny Cage was summoned to fight first against Reptile, Bi Han started to look increasingly perturbed, complaining of headaches to his fellow Lin Kuei warriors. He had been having them over the past few months, which usually resulted in violent outbursts and outrageous examples of power. This time, however, would be his most dangerous yet. Johnny Cage struck the finishing blow on Reptile, knocking him across the courtyard with a Shadow Kick before gloating. The prideful display irritated everyone to a degree but Bi Han was especially angered from it, enough to shout “POMPOUS FOOL! Next, you face a Lin Kuei Assassin!”

     Shang Tsung gestured from his seat amongst the monks. “Sub-Zero, you will wait your turn!”

     Bi Han’s body began to exhibit wild displays of cryomancy, thick layers of frost covering his skin, his eyes condensing with ice. Emerging from his pupils in intermittent flashes was a dark purple light as he stared down Scorpion. “And after I finish killing him, you shall be next!”

     As Quan Chi held Scorpion back, Bi Han ran toward Johnny Cage and started their bout off with a shoulder rush to his sternum. The tattooed “CAGE” letters across his chest had cracked and split along with the skin and bone surrounding it. The Hollywood star went barreling back into the row of monks, being held up by their nervous hands, unsure if Bi Han’s wrath would come down upon them. “Wh-whoa! Agk! Hold on, man! Giving me the cold shoulder already?”

     “I will finish you!” Bi Han reached down to grab johnny Cage only to catch a flip kick against his jaw that knocked him across the way, momentarily stunned.

     “Only person that’s gonna finish me is that smokin’ hot blonde over there.. Hehe.” Johnny aimed his fingers in a gun motion toward Sonya, making lewd gestures. Her dry heaving was comforted by Raiden and Liu Kang. Johnny continued his assault on Bi Han, overpowering him in the moment while his body glowed a bright green. Face. Chest. Stomach. Groin. Johnny made sure to hit all of his favorite vital areas with a cheesy smile stretched across his face. It was only when he took his attention off of Bi Han that his fate was sealed. “You guys seeing this? By the time I’m through, Frosty the Snowman here is going straight to DVD!”

     Bi Han’s rage reached his peak, voices shouting demands in his head, pushing him toward violent acts people would expect from Scorpion. Taking advantage of an opening, Bi Han speared Johnny to the ground, turning him on his stomach as they wrestled for control. Before Johnny could let loose another quip, Bi Han’s right hand plunged into his back, fingers wrapping around his spine. Johnny was speechless. The tears that ran down his face showed the emotion his $500 sunglasses had blocked so far. The first yank caused blood to vomit from Johnny’s mouth, making Bi Han get a firmer grip. The second yank made Johnny sound his last scream, having it fade into a pathetic whimper. The third yank relieved most of Johnny’s spine from his body.

     Bi Han rose from the ground with the half skeleton, the warm blood already starting to frost over into a dim, almost black color from his touch. He stared down Scorpion, gesturing him to come forth as he dropped the skull beneath his foot to smash it. “You wish to have revenge? Then come, spectre! You will join your clan!”

     “Bi Han, control yourself!” Raiden’s voice boomed from the sidelines, lightning surging across his frame.

     “Bi Han, stop this! Maintain order!” His fellow Lin Kuei Assassins pleaded with him to control his rage.

     “You do not control this tournament, Lin Kuei warrior! Stand down!” Shang Tsung was becoming irritated from the outburst, almost everyone getting ready to subdue Sub-Zero at any means necessary. Until Quan Chi spoke his mind.

     “Everyone, calm yourselves. It is obvious that Sub-Zero and Scorpion have had a rivalry for quite some time now. I believe it would be best for the tournament and for the kombatants if it was resolved early on. That way, we can proceed without any further disruptions. Can you abide by that, Shang Tsung?” Quan Chi gestured to him, one of his hands resting on Shinnok’s Amulet along his waist.

     Shang Tsung looked between the two kombatants before nodding. “Very well. Sub Zero wins! Fatality! Next, you shall face Scorpion!”

     As Scorpion approached Bi Han, Johnny’s corpse was dragged from the pathway by a group of tarkatans, leaving the stage set with ice and blood. “You will pay for the massacre of my family and clan, Sub-Zero! I will have your HEAD!”

     Both kombatants charged and threw their respective elements of hellfire and ice and one another, canceling each other out until they entered close kombat. Scorpion pushed off of the ground, slamming his flaming feet against bi Han’s jaw. Before he could come down to follow-up, Bi Han cracked his jaw with a well-placed uppercut, the flames dissipating from his mask. As Bi Han rushed him with a shoulder charge, Scorpion vanished in a portal of flame, appearing behind him with a charging right hook that split his face open. It was then that Raiden noticed something terribly wrong with Bi Han --- his blood was black.

     Bi Han launched his foot against Scorpion’s neck, cracking one of his vertebrae and sending him skidding across the stone path. While an ice blast was being prepared against him during his approach, Scorpion shot a spear into his heart, pulling him down and flipping him onto the other side with a vicious double kick. As Scorpion rose from the ground, he pulled on his spear, ripping his heart from his chest as Bi Han landed. While his spear reeled back into his hand, he took hold of his rival’s heart, seeing that it was a murky black, purple veins strewn across its valves. “Your black heart will feast no longer on the memories of my people. Now, they shall be at rest.”

     “Scorpion, burn it!” Quan chi shouted at him in a voice that was more scared than demanding, something that Scorpion immediately picked up on, turning to see Bi Han slowly rising from the ground. Tossing his heart to the ground, he removed his humanoid mask of flesh and cloth to reveal his flaming skeletal head.

     Bi Han’s heart was beginning to regrow, to the kombatants’ surprise, the ninja removing his mask as well to show black blood riddled along his teeth. He offered no words. Only animalistic grunts of rage. Though, they were soon quelled by Scorpion’s hellfire, roaring from his mouth to drench the Lin Kuei warrior and incinerate him to a pile of ashes. Scorpion and Quan Chi looked at one another, wondering what had just happened. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Shang Tsung spoke up.

     “Scorpion wins! Fatality!” As Shang Tsung announced the next fighters, Quan Chi looked on while Bi Han’s remains were swept off to the side, a feeling of unrest refusing to leave him for the rest of the day.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

     Splayed out along a barren ground, darkness enshrouds a deceased Bi Han as a voice calls out to him. “It is finally time, Bi Han. The time I spoke of to you. The rage of these people has driven you to become something you must embrace, the person you have always been all along. Even your own clan despises your temperament. It is time to start your work for Achlys. By helping embed my presence into this universe, you will come one step closer to achieving peace in The Vantablack Genesis.”

     The darkness surrounding Bi Han started to cover his body completely, devouring his flesh so that it could replace it. His eyes were plucked from his skull, tongue pulled at length from his body and mind now festering with the wicked thoughts of The Nether. Bi Han was dead but in his place was a phantom for Sinister to control. “Now rise --- Noob Saibot.”


	2. Defying Shadows

     “What do you mean he’s gone?!” Former Elder God Shinnok was visibly upset, seething in his skeletal throne while addressing Quan Chi. The Pyramid of Shinnok was the focal point of The Netherrealm, a massive structure made of golden brick. It was built over The Sea of Immortality and connected to land by the similarly themed Bridge of Immortality, allowing passage for any that Shinnok summoned. The throne room itself was slightly larger than Quan Chi’s, dimly lit by torches that hung on the walls opposite the throne. Behind Shinnok, large rectangular openings along the wall allowed air to blow calmly through his presence

     “I searched for Bi Han’s soul in The Netherrealm but it can not be found. I fear that the shadow took him.” Quan Chi had taken a knee before Shinnok just ten feet away from him, his voice slightly wavering.

     “Hmph. That anomaly that killed your doppelganger? Why have you not sent the spectre Scorpion to dispose of it already?” Shinnok adjusted the red crown that covered all but the front of his face, his blue, red and gold robes relaxing in his seat as he did. His pale skin tensed against his equally pale eyes, jaw slowly relaxing.

     “Lord Shinnok, I fear that this shadow being may be influencing people across the realms. When my doppelganger was killed, I could feel a power that matches yours. Perhaps one that even surpasses it.”

     “Bah! Nonsense, Quan Chi. If this being is so powerful, why have I not seen it? Why does it fear my presence?” 

     Quan Chi sighed, shaking his head. “I would not worry much about this shadow being or Bi Han, Lord Shinnok. I have found someone fresh to the Netherrealm, someone who will prove to be a much better asset than Bi Han would have been.” Quan Chi rose to his feet, turning toward the large, golden entry doors and shouting an order for those outside to come in.

     The loud creaks of the opening doors echoed around the relatively empty room, two men wrapped in black cloth carrying in a limp, female body. She wore a tattered pink set of scantily clad leather armor, the lower part of her face covered with a torn mask. In the moonlight, her Tarkatan features were visible: razor sharp, elongated teeth and orange eyes with cat-like slits. She lazily shook her shoulder-length black hair in an attempt to cover them, rousing to consciousness. “Wh---hhnngg--where….?”

     Shinnok leaned forward in his chair, squinting at the woman. “So, this is Mileena? Shao Kahn’s pet he had Shang Tsung make? All just to follow around Princess Kitana? Looks like a wasted effort.”

     Mileena gathered more strength from Shinnok’s insults, nearly wrenching free from the bandaged men. “Stay your tongue, old fool!”

     “Silence, Mileena! You stand in the presence of Lord Shinnok, former Elder God and soon-to-be ruler of Earthrealm. You should be grateful that I brought you here. We have need of your skills and are willing to revive your body from The Netherrealm to help you accomplish your task.” Quan Chi’s left hand started to glow green as he started an incantation. 

     “And why should I serve you?! Let me go!” Mileena continued to struggle against the bandaged men, prompting them to shove her to her knees. Sweat started running down the side of Quan Chi’s face as his incantation was suddenly halted by the presence of another. 

     Those familiar, heterochromatic eyes stared down the group from the far wall just underneath one of the torches. The humanoid shadow took a more solid form, the dotted holes along his body glowing with crimson as they had in Quan Chi’s Fortress. His voice was ominous, filling the room almost immediately. “The girl brings up a fair point. Why should she serve an ex-god and his equally pale miscreants? She would do much better in my employ.”

     Quan Chi gestured to the two bandaged men and then to Sinister, snorting in annoyance. Understanding his gestures, they released Mileena and darted off toward Sinister. One of them leapt into the air with a flying kick aimed at Sinister’s head, while the other glowed with a green energy similar to Quan Chi’s. 

     Sinister’s left arm extended out like a lash of ink, solidifying into a large cleaver that split the flying assailant clean in half. While those halves fell on either side of him during their descent, he slid across the floor through the shadow of the chanting male. His speed was nearly instantaneous, smashing his right hand through the bandaged male’s chest and gripping his heart out the other end. Crushing the organ in his hand, dark red blood rushed between his fingers as the assailant fell dead. He stood silent for a moment, looking to Quan Chi.

     Shinnok gestured at Mileena, a large skeletal hand rising from the ground to wrap around her body and keep her contained near the throne. “Is this the shadow creature you mentioned? Dispose of him, Quan Chi!”

     Sinister’s eyes looked at the amulet resting on Quan Chi’s hip, wondering if it was the real artifact or just another fake relic. “Are magic tricks all you are capable of doing, wizard? If so, you may as well lay down and die right now. Even that trinket won’t be enough to save you from what’s to come.”

     Shinnok cackled, licking his lips. “Fool! That is no mere trinket. It is one of the Kamidogu, mine in fact. With it, Quan Chi and I will escape this dreaded place and rule the realms.”

     At the tail end of Shinnok’s sentence, Sinister had already appeared before Quan Chi, grabbed him by the throat and was looking over the amulet in his hand. Shinnok pushed his body back in the throne chair in momentary awe, Mileena’s eyes widening. “Wh---what?! When did you---?”

     “This amulet is nothing more than a paperweight, wizard. Unless these ‘kamidogu’ are weaker than believed, you have given me fool’s gold once more.”  His fingers started to clench about Quan Chi’s neck, slowly tearing muscle and cracking surrounding bones. “Where is the real amulet? Speak now if death is not your destiny.”

     Amidst Quan Chi’s choking, Shinnok summoned another giant skeletal hand to rise near Sinister. As its fingers prepared to grip Sinister, a figure rushed over from the darkness of the throne room and shattered it with a fist bathed in purple energy. In the moonlight, the figure was revealed to be the altered Bi-Han: Noob Saibot. From his skin to his clothing, everything had been permanently darkened to a smooth black, eyes glowing an intense purple while the Greek symbol for Theta was branded into his forehead. The symbol glowed the same intense purple as his eyes.“Master Maharana, are you alright?”

     Blood spurted from Quan Chi’s lips, on the verge of gurgling on the crimson fluid while Sinister responded. “I am fine. Thank you, Noob. Restrain Shinnok. I still have a few minutes of mercy to give this wizard before he gets my full attention.”

     Shinnok was already summoning a number of skeletal hands from the ground to encapsulate Noob, squeezing his own hands to crush him by proxy. “Restrain me?! You forget who you’re speaking to and where you are, phantom! I am Lord Shinnok! God of the Netherrealm, soon to be God of all reality!”

     Quan Chi’s eyes glowed an intense shade of green, blasting Sinister’s face with spectral beams of energy. It caused Sinister’s grip around his neck to loosen, Quan Chi using the opportunity to dropkick the shadow being in the chest and break the grip entirely. He rolled away from Sinister and motioned his arms in a waving gesture, causing green skulls to form a barrier around Sinister’s body. As soon as the barrier was finished, Quan Chi pressed a hand to his neck, feeling the deformations along his skin from the recent choking. Voice raspy, he looked to Shinnok. “Lord Shinnok, shall I summon the rest of The Brotherhood of Shadow?”

     Shinnok looked pleased with himself as he relaxed his hands, having them rest at his sides. He stood in front of his throne chair and watched the large, skeletal hands release a mostly crushed Noob Saibot to slap loudly against the floor. Black fluid oozed from his body, unresponsive. “There will be no need, Quan Chi. Besides, I asked for an audience with the shadow and his ilk. I will surely take my time enjoying it. Remove the barrier. I wish to speak to the fool who dared challenge me.”

     Quan Chi gestured again with his hands to remove the barrier of green skulls, showing a headless Sinister. The shadow fell to his knees before collapsing on the ground, eliciting laughter from Shinnok and, soon thereafter, Quan Chi. “It seems as though our meeting has ended.” Quan Chi snorted, turning his attention back to Mileena who was struggling in the grasp of Shinnok’s skeletal hand. “Bear witness to your fate, Tarkatan princess, if you should ever go against the will of Lord Shinnok.”

     Black, inky tendrils thrust into Quan Chi’s back and through his chest, the ends of which morphed into hooks. Before he could catch his breath, Quan Chi was yanked over into the dark puddle that Sinister’s body had become. His arms and legs were soon adhered to the viscous puddle as he shouted in protest, his hands flickering with green magic in an attempt to stave off this odd assault. Sinister’s voice filled the room once more. “Yes, Mileena. Take heed of the actions of fools who deny fate. They shall be the first to be assimilated.”

     Shinnok started to move his hands in order to summon his skeletal offensive but was stricken in the chest with a dark orb of energy. He stumbled from the strike and, when trying to move the skeletal hands again, he found that his powers had left him. Shocked, he flailed his arms in vain while Noob Saibot leapt from the ground to tackle him to the floor. “Nghk! What?!” Another Noob Saibot was standing over Shinnok’s downed body, pressing his foot against his neck to silence him. 

     Shinnok was pinned against the cool, stone floor, unable to do anything but watch a large tendril drive through the back of Quan Chi’s head, killing him. The puddle hungrily devoured the rest of him as his body sank into the dense muck, soon having the liquid reform into an upright Sinister. Slowly opening his eyes, those red and yellow hues stared at a struggling Shinnok as he slowly made his way toward him. “You said that you wanted to speak to me, correct? Take your time enjoying it? Well then, we shall. However, we won’t do it here. We will speak in my realm.”

     Sinister gestured for the Noob Saibots to get off of Shinnok, one of them opening a dark, swirling portal beneath his body. Shinnok screamed as his body vanished into the portal. “Go, Noob. I will take care of the woman.” Noob took heed of Sinister’s words. Both he and his duplicate vanished into the portal.

     The skeletal hand that had been holding Mileena captive crumbled into dust, being carried away by the wind currents blowing through the throne room. Mileena’s eyes darted around in her head, unsure whether she wanted to attack him next or run away. Sinister could understand her internal struggle just from her body movements, his stoic expression forming into a smile. “Now that my Achlysite and those blinded men are gone, we can conduct business.”

     “Get away from me! You won’t be doing anything to me! A realm of sorcery and tricks. I won’t be deceived!” Mileena was cautious, crouching to preface her lunge. It was only when she heard Sinister’s voice again that she became indecisive.

     “This realm is strange, yes, but nothing I can not decipher and devour. Much like you and your kind, yes?” The moment Mileena had gotten into her animalistic stance, Sinister had been behind her, leaving her eyes deceived with a shadow of himself that soon faded. He placed his right hand on her shoulder, helping her stand upright. He gently turned her around to look at her face to face, his body emanating an odd warmth that she couldn’t understand. “I am not here to kill you, Mileena. I am here to help. Will you listen?”

 

     Initially hesitant, she eventually answered. “...yes.” She couldn’t exactly understand why her hand reached out to him, her mind hazy enough from the brutal events that unfolded in front of her. 

     Holding her hand in his, their surroundings shifted from Shinnok’s Throne Room to another location, one that was not of the Netherrealm or any realm Mileena had been in before. It was a bedroom, one with a smaller, more intimate size and a window that peered out onto an archipelago. The floors and walls were made of the remains of people Sinister had absorbed, parts of their malformed bodies eternally made into decor. The only light that came to the room were the slivers of moonlight that occasionally bled through the tiny window and an ever-present purple haze that glowed with an unknown power. A few feet from the center of the room where they stood, a massive bed lay erected from the floor of flesh. The bed frame made of obsidian and skeletons, the sheets of black satin. It was large enough to accommodate them twice over.

     This place was the Obelisk Obscura, a tower in Lake Mashu, Hokkaido that breached the clouds with its height. It was a physical manifestation of Sinister’s Netherrealm but only a fragment. He had lead them through their own shadows and to his personal quarters in the spire, 

     Mileena tried to take in her surroundings as the warmth from earlier flowed through her entire body, intermittent rushes of joy darting through her system. She held her head, starting to back away from Sinister with a few primal snorts. “What is this? Doesn’t….feel right. Have you drugged me? You tricked me?!” She wanted to fight against him but every nerve in her body was already fighting her will to do so, bathed in a supernatural radiance she couldn’t pinpoint.

     Sinister took a seat at the edge of the bed while Mileena pressed herself against the corpse wall beside the window adjacent to the furniture. “I did nothing to you but your body is showing the usual reaction when exposed to my A.D.I.D.A.S.”

     Mileena shook her head, trying in vain to get out of this forced feeling of euphoria. “I don’t….know what you’re talking about!”

     Sinister chuckled. “Every creature reacts differently to the properties of the power I wield, The Nether. Humans usually become violent, obsessed with its supposed occult power and end up in a perpetual cycle of murder. Superhumans and supernatural beings usually try to resist The Nether but end up being lulled into a state of safety and joy so as not to feel its full effects. Then there are those who feel it as a drug, a rush of arousal they simply can’t shake. However, all of these things are dependant on my will and what buttons I wish to push with my power. “

     “Hmph….so….you wish to seduce me, is that it? This Nether power you speak of….common pheromones?” Mileena’s legs tensed, the conversation bringing her to the realization that she didn’t have much clothing to speak of. Her curvaceous body was barely wrapped in pink and black leather armor, her chest on the edge of being fully exposed with only a few determined threads keeping it in place. The valley between her thighs fought to stay closed but even she couldn’t deny that clear fluids were already beginning to trail down her inner thigh from the arousal placed on her. She shivered. “Nggh..b-bastard…”

     Sinister continued to observe Mileena, slowly parting his legs to reveal the massive spire of black meat that came to hang over the edge of the bed. Although it normally remained hidden within his dark body, in Mileena’s presence, it was fully unveiled. Veins traversed the humanoid shaft, glowing a deep red while a few droplets of gray pre were released from the bulbous, black head. Hanging beneath in relatively loose flesh were a pair of balls that gently churned with fluid, an unnatural shine emanating from them. In total, Sinister’s manhood gave the impression of a whole other limb clutching a pair of fruit. “Do understand that I am here to help you, Mileena. Just like I helped Bi Han and perfected him into the being which could take down Shinnok.”

     Mileena’s back was fully pressed against the wall, her left hand gripping at the threads that held her breastpiece in place. Those sharpened, black nails idly sawed against them while she kept eye contact with Sinister. “And just...what manner of being can strike down sorcerers like Quan Chi and an ex-elder god such as Shinnok? Are you with...Shao Kahn? Am I being returned to him?” Even with her fighting to remain on topic, she was helplessly clenching her razor teeth behind the tattered pink mask, struggling to swallow once her view of Sinister’s manhood was unobstructed. Her right hand clutched at her inner thigh, inching toward the leaking valley.

     “No, I am not with any Shao Kahn. I am Sinister Maharana, Son of Achlys and Bringer of the Vantablack Genesis. I came to your universe to further my plans and save those who have been blinded by the forces of light. To bring the ignorant back to the darkness that spawned them, so to speak.” Though his dripping shaft throbbed idly, Sinister did little else to try and arouse Mileena, satisfied in the degradation of her behavior just by words alone. “I have come to save you from the painful, eternal assimilation that all who refuse will be subjected to. You seem as though you have already been through quite enough. I am sure immense power and restoration of your status is preferable to being trapped where those other fools are, yes?”

     Mileena swallowed hard, nodding. She was unable to speak for about a minute, both due to contemplation of his words and from the hazy nature Sinister’s A.D.I.D.A.S. pheromones imposed. “I...I don’t...this…” Her words, her sense had been stunted by the amount of sensual euphoria running through her system. By the second, she was receiving dopamine on levels that would have sent a normal human into comatose, her Tarkatan half more resistant to its more debilitating effects. Soon enough, her bare feet started to shuffle across the floor, walking over embossed faces and limbs. Just to get near him. Just to touch him again. Her body was starving for it.

     On her way over, her nails had sliced through the few threads holding her chestplate together and caused it to fall to the floor. Her smooth chestnut skin was slightly tinted under the glowing purple ambiance, her large breasts full with a slight droop along her chest. Dark nipples were hardened to a point, bringing Sinister’s length ever closer to full mast. The curves along her body were guided by the muscular striations from her fit physique, having two thick, solid thighs to keep someone on their knees for as long as she wished. Her right hand loosened the black string of her panties, the pink shield of spandex falling to the wayside to reveal her hairy mound. Fluids of ecstasy slicked her bush like dew, excess creating consistent trails down her legs and off her black-painted toes. 

     “Ah. It seems as though the A.D.I.D.A.S. is too strong, even for you. I will need to satiate the animal in you before we can speak of more important matters.” Sinister’s hands hooked around the body of the false princess just inches in front of him, sliding fingers along her hips. His palms smacked against Mileena’s fat backside, gripping her cheeks with a rough squeeze. After a deep inhale of her own scent, his eyes closed then opened again to look up at her. Her elongated, razor teeth communicated brutality but the arch of her brows, the wrinkle along her nose --- these things expressed the words “Fuck me.” “Once you receive the blessing, you will be much more amicable, in any case. Come, Mileena. I will give your body the feast it deserves.”

     Mileena’s body tensed with every squeeze Sinister placed on her backside, unfamiliar with this type of interaction. Although she had the dangerous allure of a femme fatale, she had only been created a year ago, her primary focus on being a spy for Shao Kahn. She used her assets well to lure unwitting invaders and intruders to their death but had never been caressed or engaged in the act in earnest. Her hands moved from her body, allowing Sinister to take control and pressing her palms against either side of his skull. A spike of defiance welled from Mileena’s spirit, pink energy flowing around her fingers. “I...only….feast…..y-you!” Even with a clouded mind and jumbled speech, she fought back. 

     Two sais formed in her hands and, incidentally, through Sinister’s skull, halting his movements. With a primal growl, she twisted his head around with the sais, pushing her feet off the bedroom floor and somersaulting over his body. Landing on the bed with his torn head kabobed between the sais, she let out a victory cry, starting to viciously chew at the skull like a wild beast. Her feelings of lust were still there but she attempted to redirect the energy into that of fury, of survival. After chewing half of Sinister’s head, she tossed it aside and anxiously roamed around the room in search of a way out.

     Her hands ran along the walls, trying to see if a door was hidden behind one of the cadaver molds in the wall. But they didn’t budge. She tried to see if she could fit through the window but it was barely large enough to fit her hand through, let alone her body. With frustration mounting, her searching soon led to scratching, punching, slapping and kicking anything she could in an attempt to get out of that chamber. Her growls turned to shouts and roars, sounds that would never come from any type of human being. Five minutes. Ten. Twenty. Forty. The time dragged on and none of her physical or mystic capabilities got her anywhere. By the time her roars had turned to angry cries, she was pounding her fists relentlessly into the floor.

     “Raaaaggghhh! Let me out of here, demon! Return me to Shao Kahn! Let me OUT!” Pink energy swirled around her arms and her punches became more powerful, almost seismic. But even then, it was no use. The physical reaction she had been trying to hold back for the longest time finally started to pour out, tears rushing from her eyes and dripping from her teeth. She wanted it to be blood, to be a liquid of savagery and dominance instead of submission. Palms pressed against the floor, embossed hands pressing back against her. Sinister’s voice emerged from the room, ominous with no perceptive point of origin.

     “To go where, Mileena? Back to the wasteland? Back to your captive? Can you not see that your powerless nature is not isolated to this one moment?”

     “I killed you….”

     Mileena’s shadow started to morph and shift, Sinister’s hands emerging from it to press against her own palms. His face emerged from the floor to look toward her, the rest of his body hidden within the shadow. “Death holds no jurisdiction over me, Mileena. I am linked to the very concept of evil. As long as evil exists, so will I. Sure, they may destroy shells, these physical husks. But I will always remain and I will always return.” He sank back into her shadow, re-emerging to a vertical stance adjacent to her kneeling body. Sinister extended a hand down toward her. 

     “What...do you want? My body? To carry out your sick perversion?” Sniffles and coughs intermixed with pitiful growls as she talked.

     “Mileena, all I ever wish for creation is for it to return to its origin. The forces of light have blinded and confused the world for far too long. I can sense the powerlessness you face, the frustration in not reaching whatever goal you want to achieve. You crave it ferociously but you can not grasp it. You have been passed from person to person like property and have not been given the honor of being who you truly are, beyond the laws and order of that archaic world. I wish to offer you this chance to join me and Achlys in assimilating these worlds. In making you whole.”

     The A.D.I.D.A.S. was still in effect and her body was wracked with a consistent rush of endorphins but mentally, she was in a different place. From the beginning, all she had ever been was someone’s tool but all she wanted was to be Kitana’s replacement. A princess.

     “You...you make it sound so easy. What would I even have to do?” She finally looked away from the floor and up at him, her face wet with tears. There wasn't much shame left after hearing him speak the truth.

     “The Nether is only further aggravating your mood. It doesn’t seem as though you are used to such pheromones unless they come from your own kind and even then, they’re probably a minimal amount.” Sinister knelt down, curling his arms under Mileena’s naked form to lift her into his grasp. He carried her like she was a child. “If you wish to pursue your own destiny within the darkness, then you will take this night to rest. The blessing and the baptism will come later.”

     Mileena remained quiet as he carried her into bed, carefully laying her down. Almost instinctively, she grabbed at the sheets, moving to the opposite side of the bed. Her primal desires and fears were still overshadowing her mind, seeing Sinister as a danger. But beneath her anxiety and cagey behavior, she felt as though this is where she belonged. At least for now.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Meanwhile, Elsewhere

 

     Shinnok awoke on a ground made of writhing, hot flesh, momentarily retching from the smell. He shook his head, trying to stand only to find that his wrists and ankles were bound with black chains. Instead of the chains being anchored into the plain of flesh, they were being held down by a plethora of gory hands, keeping him restrained. Once his eyes left the chains to look at where he was, he was soon able to recall the feeling of horror he had set aside so long ago. Shinnok was in Theatikka Mue.

     Theatikka Mue was the center of the original Netherrealm, a place where life and death were one in the same. The Netherrealm itself was illuminated by a dark purple neon, an ambiance of despair where the sky was absent and instead replaced with an endless black void. For anyone trying to find the end of the realm, they would find only more, virtually endless. The surroundings were made up of a wicked amalgamation of the people, places and things that Sinister had assimilated during his efforts to achieve The Vantablack Genesis. It was his quest to make everything and everyone a part of him through a never-ending series of convergence events. 

     Sinister’s Netherrealm was constantly hot, well above 100 degrees to keep the realm pliable, malleable for the coming convergence events. However, the air was thick with humidity in Theatikka Mue, where Sinister’s true body rested. Shinnok cast his eyes on a dodecahedron the size of Earth’s moon, hanging miles away in the air and strung up by webs of flesh. They were dense enough to be comparable to city buildings, long enough to match the endless expanse and in a multitude that no being could count. Sitting or standing on those web strands were eight beings, each with chimeric bodies of animals and humans. Their glowing purple eyes stared into Shinnok’s soul as he tried to gather what was going on. That was when Sinister’s humanoid form emerged from his shadow in front of Shinnok.

     “What manner of madness is this?!” Shinnok spat, seething from being treated like a prisoner.

     “What is happening is an act of mercy, Shinnok---”

     “Lord Shinnok, you swine!” Screams gurgled from Shinnok’s mouth when his kneecaps were pierced from behind, obsidian spikes erecting from the ground. 

     Sinister extended his right hand out and placed it on Shinnok’s head, gently easing him into a kneeling position to come off the spikes. “There are no hierarchies above me, Shinnok. You can leave that title behind along with whatever grace you fell from to get you here. As I said, what I have done is an act of mercy. You could have been assimilated like your cohort, Quan Chi.” Sinister gestured three feet away, to Shinnok’s side. Quan Chi’s dismembered body, now a gory flesh color, writhed in agony beneath the surface of skin and blood. His head struggled to breathe, the mouth widening to the point of breaking the jaw in an attempt to get adequate oxygen. “Because of his insolence and inability to see beyond the light that blinded him, he will now struggle to receive the most basic of nourishment for all of eternity.”

     Shinnok’s eyes burned with rebellion, radiant energy flickering before ultimately fizzling out. “I wouldn’t bother trying to resist or escape. Your powers are infantile when compared to the vastness of The Nether. You may have had access to it but your knowledge of its foundational composition and the depths of its power were too meager to deem any sort of threat. You will not be a part of The Vantablack Genesis and you will not join my ranks.”

     “Then why have you brought me here?!”

     “Information.” Sinister’s hands rested behind the small of his back as he began to pace, walking over countless body parts in the process. “As you were previously a god in your universe, I can only surmise that you have a vast amount of information on these different ‘realms’, its occupants and the strange trinkets known as The Kamidogu. Seeing as I wish to save as many potential recruits as possible from the same suffering Quan Chi must endure, you will tell me everything you know about these things. In exchange, I will allow for you to remain in your current state, to keep your mind and, eventually, have your natural powers returned to you.”

     Shinnok chuckled. “And if I refuse, you’ll chop me up and use me as fertilizer? Then you’ll never get the information you want. You’ll be as lost as you are now.”

     “Not entirely. It would just take longer to get the information. These bodies aren’t here just for aesthetic, Shinnok. Every piece of matter that I assimilate, no matter on what plane or dimension it exists, will have all of its memories and knowledge absorbed as well. Everything will be absorbed into me. That is why I called this an act of mercy. I am giving you the option of doing this the easy way.”

     Shinnok looked down in contemplation. “Hear me, foul creature. You may believe you are a threat to the realms, to me, even to the Elder Gods but you will not succeed. Do you honestly think that you are the first to try to merge the realms? There have been many but they have all been thwarted by the forces of Earthrealm and their vile ilk. You will fail and you will join me in eternal damnation.”

     “Then you shall be assimilated, your conscience molded with all the others into a barren void.”

     Shinnok spit into Sinister’s face, scoffing. “Do as you wish. The Elder Gods will destroy you.” As the final words were spoken, the hands that held Shinnok’s chains in place slowly began to pull. His body sank into the putty-like consistency of the ground. His laughs rose in volume and tone before he was silenced with a mouth full of gore, drowning in the Netherrealm’s firmament.

     “Noob.”

     Noob Saibot appeared from one of the shadows cast from the flesh web. “Yes, Lord Sinister?”

     “While I study this information, I want you to do intel on this ‘Shao Kahn’ people have been speaking of. They say he consistently tries to merge the realms and if these Kamidogu are as important as I believe they are, then he would know exactly where to find them. I will join you in due time. I must assimilate another into our ranks.” The massive dodecahedron glowed, millions of red and yellow eyes swimming along the first layer of slurry-like flesh while information was being fetched.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

     Mileena’s body was jarred from bed in a cold sweat, her breathing heavy and ragged. Coughing, she rubbed her eyes and looked to the small window adjacent the bed. A dim beam of sunlight had crept through, bringing more detail to the ghoulish design of the floor and walls. She looked around for Sinister but he appeared to be missing. Her emotions were tempered, feeling somewhat safe. Taking a few deep breaths, she could smell a familiar scent. 

     She swung her legs to hang over the edge of the bed, slowly tapping one foot against the skeletal frame lining the bottom. Smiling, her toes brushed against the cheekbone of one of the ornate skulls. “Good morning, demon.”

     The shadows that accented the skull shifted out to pool in front of Mileena, having Sinister form into a standing position. “I see that your body is acclimating to The Nether and the potent properties of the tower.”

     Mileena’s left foot rose from the ornate skull, pressing her toes against Sinister’s flaccid, exposed length. The little digits rose and descended in an idle, repetitive stroking motion, brushing along his smooth ebony skin. “I hope you don’t believe this means I’m going to stay here as your underling.”

 

     “And why not? Your body is taking to the Nether environment, which means that you naturally thrive among this deathforce. Not many can handle the constant bombardment of Nether and must handle the element in metered dosages. Those who have a heart and mind more attuned to evil are able to embrace it much more quickly. To me, this seems like your home.” Sinister’s cock started to throb from the smooth friction against him, his eyes tracing the half-Tarkatan’s still-naked body.

     “Home? My home is in Outworld with Shao Kahn. At least that’s what the case is as of now. Rumors spread about me being...created differently than Kitana but I’m not sure what they meant. It was insulting, to have my sister Kitana favored over me. Just because…” She looked away, her foot pressing Sinister’s manhood against his lower stomach, feeling the intense heat radiating from it and through her body. Her toes curled to tease the head as she thought of her relationship with Kitana and Shao Kahn.

     Sinister crossed his arms, watching her attempt to display a subtle form of dominance. It was clear to him that she wasn’t used to being ordered around and used like an animal. He could sense a streak of rebellion in her, something that stemmed from her deep-seated anger. “I can tell you definitely aren’t human. You’re of a different species, hybrid perhaps? Whatever the case of your creation, your mouth seems to be the main reason why people treat you like they do. Dragged around by Quan Chi like an animal and seen as property by this Shao Kahn, instead of a daughter. A warrior. But here, in the Nether, you would be seen as a vicious, loyal warrior under me. Whatever power this ‘Shao Kahn’ wields, I can guarantee you that it pales in comparison to mine. But, I am not a mindless savage. I will offer you a choice.”

     Mileena blinked, turning back to him. “Choice? Of what?”

     Sinister’s right arm extended to the other side of the room, his heterochromatic eyes glowing. Red lightning shot from his fingertips, tearing open a rectangular gateway with pooling purple energy inside. “I know enough of your universe to navigate through these realms. After gathering information from a certain ex-god, and after understanding that you come from this Outworld, I can send you to your home. The Nether will fade from your body in a matter of days since you only took in small, passive amounts. I will not try to take you again. You can continue whatever it was you and your family wished to do while I do what I wish to do. There will be no repercussions.”

     Mileena’s foot slid from Sinister’s semi-erect tool, both legs hanging close to the bedframe. “And what is the other option? What if I choose to remain here?”

     “If you choose to remain here, you will never return to the life you came from. The people that you knew, loved, hated --- they would never be in your life again, at least not the same way they were before. You would be inducted as an Achlysite under me, given a fragment of The Nether to make you much more powerful than you are now and you would join me in assimilating your universe.”

     Mileena’s eyes widened when he mentioned assimilation, head tilting. “Assimilating my universe? You speak of merging the realms. The Elder Gods would never allow that unless through Mortal Kombat. There is no other way. Even then...it would be extremely dangerous to go through with something like that. You would essentially be challenging every realm to kombat for dominance!”

     Sinister snickered, moving to seat himself beside her, his manhood hanging off the edge of the bed. “As I have already heard from numerous people, yes. However, as long as you are with me, there will be no force which can stop us. Achlys, my mother, was the first deity in existence. She gave me this mission, this duty, to exterminate the gods and bring the truth of darkness back to existence. One reality at a time. As long as she is with me and my will remains strong, every obstacle is simply a bump in the road. No more.” Sinister placed a hand on her thigh, clenching his fingers around the muscular flesh with a squeeze. “But your future depends on this moment, here. You can choose to go back to your life and await the inevitable or become the true Mileena, the one you ultimately wish to be. The decision is yours.”

     Mileena was hesitant, feeling rushed but at the same time anxious for this moment to come. For years, she had been Kitana’s hideous shadow instead of her sister, a spy rather than a princess. But here, her opportunity to become more than an experiment or an animal was looking her right in the eye. As the portal hummed with ambient Nether energy, she clenched her teeth and exhaled. “If you are this powerful and this ambitious, then I will stay. If only because you didn’t finish me.”

     Sinister squinted. “Finish you? Why would I execute you after taking the time to bring you here?”

     “That is the basis of Mortal Kombat, the tournament created by the Elder Gods. When  you defeat someone in Mortal Kombat, you’re expected to finish them since they have failed their realm and serve no further purpose.”

     Sinister seethed with rage, eyes closing to mediate it before looking to her. “These ‘Elder Gods’ remind me of the gods of my world. Meaningless regulations, genocidal and demanding of worship. It is senseless. Rest assured they shall also face judgement from me. But, I am glad that you have chosen to stay and become an Achlysite.”

     Mileena nodded hesitantly, still trying to absorb the weight of what he said so casually concerning the merging of realms and the Elder Gods. “What does becoming an Achlysite entail, exactly?”

     Sinister’s hand slid up her thigh to grasp her midsection, the other resting along her inner thigh as he turned to her. “To become an Achlysite, there is an initiation rite. If one wishes to become a warrior, then your skills would be tested, along with your willpower and dedication to the cause. If one wishes to become a harlot or lover of the flesh, then they would have to survive a sample of my amorous appetite. Either way, if one is to pass these steps, they would then be given a fragment of my power in the form of a brand, The Mark of Theta. They would then recite the Oath of Nyx to seal the power within their bodies, giving it permission to grow exponentially as they go along their journey.”

     Mileena’s eyes lidded halfway as she hummed to herself. “And if one wishes to become both?” She crawled out of his grasp, pressing her back to the headboard with a seductive glance. 

     “Then one would need to pass both initiations.” Sinister’s hand wrapped around Mileena’s thighs, spreading them as he moved closer to her. The head of his throbbing shaft pressed heavily against the aching lips between her legs.

     “Harlot first. Then Warrior. Show me your god, demon.” Mileena’s toned legs wrapped around Sinister’s waist, squeezing his body and pulling him deeper inside. 

     The morning was filled with bestial screams and supernatural marvels that neither had witnessed before. There was fear, pleasure and anger. But in the final minutes of those four hours, there was also an utterance from Kitana’s clone --- “Achlys be praised.”


	3. Inside Outworld

_      Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. _ Liu Kang’s breath was steady and slow, his body settled on the floor. Currently meditating, Liu Kang was trying to stabilize himself at the Wu Shi Academy, a martial arts institution in Earthrealm’s China. With Oriental architecture of yore and a location near the serene mountains, it was an isolated area where Earthrealm warriors could train to better themselves. Most recently, a hoard of Tarkatan warriors had invaded the academy, killing untold amounts of Shaolin monks. They left most of the area in ruins, leaving those who survived to rebuild and prepare for another attack should they come again. However, Liu Kang was struggling with the rage that boiled inside him, intent on making Shao Kahn pay for sending his hordes.

Fists clenched and loosened at the end of spiked bracers. His body was adorned with kung fu pants of red and white, kung fu shoes and a red headband wrapped around his forehead. His shoulder-length black hair remained still in the sunlit room. The temple he was currently in had a jagged hole torn in the roof, exposing the bedroom-sized chamber to the elements. Liu Kang’s crossed legs tensed when a familiar breeze blew across his bare upper body. Eyes opened along with his lips. “We have to go there, Raiden. We must stop him here and now.”

Standing in the doorway was Raiden, The God of Thunder and former Elder God. He was always dressed in white robes, an Oriental blue vest decorated with gold symbols and black tabi. Gauntlets were tightly adjusted to his wrists, carrying the same color and pattern of his vest. His glowing blue eyes always rested beneath the shadow of his conical, straw Chinese coolie hat. His voice was calm but powerful. “Liu Kang, I can understand your frustration. Kung Lao also wishes for vengeance for what Shao Kahn has done, as do I. However, recent events have caused me to re-think our entry into Earthrealm.”

Liu Kang stood to his feet, turning to face Raiden with arched brows. “Re-think our entry? Raiden, they have destroyed our home, killed our brothers --- what could be so important that we must hesitate to deliver vengeance upon these Outworld intruders?”

“People across the realms are vanishing. When I say this, I mean that they are not killed or possessed or even taken to other realms. Lives are disappearing from the very realms and I can not tell where they went to. They are not with the Elder Gods or in The Netherrealm.” Raiden’s face took on a solemn expression, eyes looking down. “Even more concerning, both Shinnok and Quan Chi have become victims of this disappearing act. I can not sense their spiritual energy in any of the realms.”

Liu Kang scoffed, shaking his head. “Lord Raiden, why should we care if scum like Quan Chi and Shinnok have gone missing? It must be one of their tricks, in any case. If not them, then surely Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung. This is all the more reason to go to Outrealm and stop their treachery.”

Raiden turned to the courtyard of the academy, sighing. “This is not like any magic or sorcery I have felt. Every passing minute, people are disappearing into thin air. I apologize, Liu Kang but I must consult with The Elder Gods about this situation.”

Liu Kang stepped forward, offended from his decision. “Raiden! You would leave Earthrealm to the mercy of Shao Kahn while you go off and indulge in wild fantasies of vanishing people!?”

Raiden turned sharply to Liu Kang, his electric blue eyes glowing intensely with power. “Shao Kahn is a threat, Liu Kang. Though, if this is unattended, then it will not matter which side wins this Outrealm Tournament. All will be in danger. Besides, you are The Mortal Kombat Champion and Defender of Earthrealm. I believe in your abilities.”

Grunting loudly, Liu Kang bowed toward Raiden before quickly walking past him. “I...I understand, Lord Raiden. Do as you must. I will take Kung Lao and the others through the portal near the entrance. We will face Shao Kahn and protect our realm. I can only hope that this mystery is worth your time.”

“I pray to the Elder Gods that it is not.” Raising his right hand to the skies, Raiden vanished in a powerful bolt of lightning.

 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“If you stand too close, they will eat you.” Mileena leaned back against one of the trees in The Living Forest, tossing one of her sais up and catching it in a repeating gesture. She was relaxing just ten feet from where Sinister was standing. The Living Forest, originally a part of Edenia, was now situated in Outworld. It was haunted with the souls of those who perished there, the trees themselves sentient and prone to devouring the lost. Large, twisted faces and sickly green eyes helped the trees keep track of who traversed the forest, groaning and roaring in between meals. The night introduced a chill that accompanied their suffering.

The half-Tarkatan had taken on a new appearance due to her being imbued with Nether days after her initiation with Sinister. Her hair had been shaved down to an asymmetrical bob cut, one side shaved completely and the other grown to shoulder-length . She wore a purple leotard with a deep cut along the chest to expose her cleavage, black armored plates lining the fabric. Thigh-high purple boots with metallic stilettos cover her legs, black armor lining them as well. Fingerless, elbow-length purple gloves cover her arms, sharing the same armored properties as the rest of her clothing. Burned into her sternum is the symbol for Theta, steadily glowing purple, just like her eyes. 

The most stylish change in Mileena’s attire is her half-mask veil, now made of thick purple lace and small black chains that cross the back of her head in an “x” shape. She looked over at Sinister who was visually inspecting one of the trees that was growling at him. “They’re the reason why this place doesn’t see many of Shao Kahn’s servants. Well, besides --”

“The prowling woman, yes. I know, Mileena. I felt her presence here the moment we entered. Strong and bold yet unsure.” Sinister's right hand morphed into a massive axe, cleaving the large tree up the middle and splitting its face in half. As its bark cracked and splintered, the division of its halves revealed a dark-skinned woman dressed in green, skintight clothing. She wore black thigh-high boots with gold trim, her mouth covered by a green veil and black hair tied up in a ponytail that ended at the middle of her back. She wielded a metal bo staff that was almost as tall as her body, green eyes filled with dread at the sight of Sinister.

“Jade. You don’t usually walk through this place. Why are you here?” Mileena pushed herself off the tree and walked to stand beside Sinister. 

“Mileena...you’re alive? How? Who is this being you have aligned yourself with?” Jade’s staff started to glow with a slight purple hue, muscles becoming tense.

“I am Sinister Maharana and she is my newest Achlysite, a follower of my eventual rule. I revived her with the power of Nether, giving her a new life by my side. I do hope that your body follows a tranquil mind. I would hate for you to rush into an unfortunate death in this forest, woman.” Sinister’s right arm reformed into a normal limb, using his hands to uproot the damaged tree and clear it from his path. 

Jade took a few steps back, brows arching in defiance. “My name is Jade, not woman. I am in search of Princess Kitana, the warrior who killed Mileena . Shao Kahn has given me the task of bringing her back for judgement.”

“Mileena’s sister? Interesting. Perhaps you would like to join us so that we can find her together, Jade?”

“You are not with Shao Kahn and I must be quick to bring her back to him. Leave this place, now. The both of you!” Jade was untrusting of Sinister and Mileena, despite the latter being close to Shao Kahn. She wanted to find Kitana to help her resist against Shao Kahn’s vicious clutches, feigning loyalty until she was able to team up with the Edenian princess. 

Sinister almost instantaneously appeared inches away from Jade, his hand gripping her steel bo staff. Those heterochromatic eyes stared daggers into Jade’s green hues. “Why the rush? These realms are already as good as mine. Mileena is mine. Soon, Shao Kahn will need to decide where his life will lay: beside me or at my feet. Here, I offer you the same choice.”

“Unhand my weapon, creature!” Jade pushed her feet off the ground as her body glowed with a green aura. Performing a backflip kick with immense power, she sliced Sinister’s chin open and loosened his grip on her staff. She landed a good distance away from him, spinning her bo staff before slamming it into the ground and creating a seismic event that caused Sinister to stumble. However, Mileena had perched herself atop a nearby tree branch, staring down at Jade.

Vanishing in a pink wave of energy, she re-appeared in front of Jade with a flying kick. The steel stiletto of her heel ripped into Jade’s forearm when she attempted to block, both of them crashing into the ground below. “I will deal with her, Lord Sinister. I was right about Kitana being around here somewhere. I could smell the bitch much better thanks to your blessing.” Jade smashed the side of Mileena’s face with her staff, causing her to roll away from the green warrior.

“You would betray Shao Kahn, Mileena?!” Jade stood to her feet, taking a fighting stance after spinning her bo staff in a threatening manner. “You shouldn’t stand in my way.”

“Yet, here I am.” She turned to Sinister, cracking her neck in preparation for battle. “Her scent trails to the east. She is probably at the Tower of the Shadow Priests. It’s the tallest structure in Outworld.”

“Very well, Mileena. Do your best to remove the blindness from her eyes before resorting to killing her. The more that are aligned with Achlys, the more people who will witness her glory.” Sinister sank into the shadows of the trees, slithering through the darkness while Mileena goaded Jade to come closer.

Jade launched forward at Mileena, shoving her bo staff into her stomach. There was a loud thud, Mileena’s feet barely moving. Mileena’s eyes conveyed joy as she gripped Jade’s staff with her right hand, using supernatural strength to slam Jade on the opposite side. The ground cracked with multiple fissures and blood gushed from Jade’s lips. Mileena’s sickening laugh filled the forest as she kicked at Jade’s head, aiming with her steel stiletto. Jade kicked her own foot up and her body radiated an intense green, the two caught in an even struggle..

“You’ll die here.” Mileena’s right hand glowed with a purple energy, summoning one of her sai. As she prepared to throw it at Jade’s head, she pushed Mileena back with all her strength. She was sent flying along the forest floor, her sai embedded in a tree behind Jade. Brushing herself off, Jade ran toward Mileena and used her bo staff to pole vault herself into the air. Landing with a boot to Mileena’s face, the kick had the half-Tarkatan crash through one of the living trees. Souls erupted from the broken bark, leaving Jade to continue the momentum with her staff. 

“It is not I who will die, Mileena. Now, get up! I’m not finished with you.” Running at her downed body, she tried to impale her with the end of her staff only to strike ground. The seismic quake from the strike knocked Mileena back to the ground after her dodge, looking right at Jade’s towering body. With incredible speed, Jade smashed the end of her bo staff across and against Mileena’s face in an angered frenzy. Despite her powerful blows, no blood was spilled, no groans of agony. Instead, Mileena’s laughter started up again in earnest, leading Jade to finish with a smash strong enough to create a crater.

After only a few seconds of lying beneath Jade, her laughter transitioned into a satisfied moan. “Done with foreplay, Jade? I need something I can feel.” 

Jade shouted in anger, charging her staff with a great amount of green energy before bashing it against Mileena’s skull. She was surprised when Mileena caught her bo staff with her hand, resisting the seismic energy that was running through her body. The chains along Mileena’s pink veil rattled as her purple eyes burned with the energy of the Nether, her voice now layered with terrifying tones. “Is this it? Your big finish? How disappointing” Mileena slammed her heels into the ground, yanking Jade’s staff and her arm completely from her body in one gesture. Mileena’s muscles tensed with glowing purple veins flashing through her system. 

Jade faltered as blood spurted from her ripped open shoulder, her severed arm undergoing nerve spasms on the ground. She tried to tackle Mileena with the arm she had left but ended up falling to the ground instead. Mileena teleported to the sai stuck in the tree a small distance away. Jade groaned from the pain, feeling light headed from the blood loss already.

“I can seal that wound for you, Jade. I can help you become more powerful than you are now. I can even help you survive what’s to come. But you will need to pledge your allegiance to Sinister and Mother Achlys.” Mileena pulled her sai from the tree, twirling it in her grasp as she slowly made her way back over to Jade. Leaves crunched and crumbled beneath her boots. “Shed this allegiance to Shao Kahn. Join the darkness beyond these realms.”

Jade ripped the green veil from her mouth, trying to wrap it around the wound with little success. The cloth was soaked in seconds. “Stay..stay away from me, creature!” Upon finding that the veil did nothing to stop the bleeding, she started crawling toward her disembodied arm and the staff it weakly wielded. Determination flashed in her eyes during her feeble crawl, clawing at the dirt to bring her closer to potential salvation. It was cut short when Mileena’s steel stiletto impaled her damaged shoulder, pinning her to the ground. Jade cried out, just out of arm’s reach from her weapon.

“We won’t tolerate resistance, even if ignorance does lead you to it. Speaking of which, Reptile will be in for a nasty surprise.”

Jade’s eyes opened wide. “W-what?!”

“You thought I didn’t smell that foul lizard skittering about? You must be a fool if you think the emperor cares about you, Jade. They don’t care about you or me. Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, they underestimate us. Use us for their own goals.”

“And...tchgnk...this...Sinister? Your...handler?” Jade screamed as Mileena jammed her stiletto deeper into the wound.

“He liberated me! I am not under him -- I am joined with him. If you stay here, Jade, you will die. But you may yet survive if you side with us.”

Jade struggled to stay conscious, let alone talk while the blood continued to pool around her body. She knew that if she didn’t side with Mileena, she would most likely die or be devoured by one of the malevolent trees. Her eyes clenched tightly, breathing shallow and tears flowing down her bloodied cheeks. With what energy she could muster, she spoke a few strange words. “Komon...ze yah...”  Jade’s staff glowed a deep green, extending to the grasp of her hand, finding the final reserves of energy in herself, she aimed the staff back at Mileena, speaking the odd phrase again. “Komon ze yah!”

Mileena was caught off guard when the bo staff extended so suddenly, thrusting her into the air and twenty feet back from Jade. Landing with a heavy thud, she shook her head and looked over to see Jade brimming with a green aura so fierce, it lapped with flame. Her long black hair flowed in the chilled winds of the forest, eyes a burning green and wound being cauterized by the flow of magical energy. “Shao Kahn’s magic?!”

Jade twirled her bo staff, smashing the end against the forest floor with legs stanced for kombat. “Not Shao Kahn. This is Edenian magic. My bo staff is enchanted and we are connected. It gives me strength, I give it blood. That’s how it works. There’s a chance I may die here but I know for damn sure that you’ll never leave this forest alive!” 

Mileena stood to her feet, summoning her sai and taking a stance of her own with bent knees and cocked elbows. “We’ll just see abou---”

Jade was on Mileena before she could finish, her bo staff crashing against the side of her face. “Die!” Mileena’s body bounced off a tree and back toward Jade, who twirled the bo staff in her hand, bringing momentum into the steel edge. She smashed the end against the underside of her jaw, spinning it again once her feet left the ground to smash it yet again. Before Mileena could touch the ground, Jade used her boost in strength and speed to punt her a good distance. Mileena smashed into another tree, bouncing like a pinball as Jade repeated the high speed staff bludgeon. The trees groaned but one couldn’t tell if it was out of agony or if they were actually enjoying the kombat.

Jade had propelled Mileena high into the air from the constant bombardment, finally leaping off of a branch and aiming her bo staff at her. Her arm cocked back as she fell toward Mileena’s diagonally descending body, soon hurling the staff like a spear. The power behind the throw was immense, smashing into Mileena’s chest and barreling her right into the mouth of a haunted tree. Its maw opened wide, chomping down as soon as she landed on its slimy tongue. Jade landed safely on the forest floor, soon coming to her feet.

Jade heard Mileena’s body being chewed and devoured far behind her, the green aura fading from her body. She carefully used the haunted trees as leverage while trying to shuffle her way out the forest, talking to herself about the decisions she had made. “Hah...Kitana….I am sorry. I should have...nghh...been more attentive. Should have...been stronger for you. I will do what I can to...save you, Kitana….to save what is left….of Edenia…”

A whistling sound filled Jade’s ears momentarily, soon replaced with the rushing of blood. It was a struggle to blink for her, forcing her to see the same blood that clogged her ears dripping from her forehead and down her chest. She reached up to feel her own staff impaled through her skull, taking a deep inhale and collapsing to the ground. The green color left her eyes in exchange for a pale white, footsteps approaching her body.

“It gave you strength, I gave it blood.” Mileena forced the staff to impale the earth, pinning her body to the forest as she readjusted her clothing. Bone, muscle and skin regenerated quickly along her frame, reinvigorating her with the pseudo-immortality that Sinister had promised her. She lifted her veil to spit on her face, promptly making her way East out of the forest. Minutes after the fighting had ceased, branches converged on Jade, the forest’s groans rising in unison.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sinister arrived at the Tower of the Shadow Priests that Mileena had mentioned to him, its peak rising above the clouds. The environment around the tower was mostly barren with a perpetual night shrouding the small temples around it. He returned to his humanoid shape once he felt a group of Shadow Priests following him. He stood upright in a long corridor with a large circular window carved out of the wall. Sunny skies and darkened clouds mixed from this height in the tower, shifting between day and night by the minute. The interior architecture of the tower was archaic, hailing back to Chinese castle aesthetic. 

Six Shadow Priests surrounded Sinister and blocked his path to the last few floors. The priests were robed in thick, tattered layers of flowing cloth, their lower bodies masked by the darkness. Their faces were hooded, leaving only pairs of glowing, orange eyes visible beneath their clothing. Gray, elderly hands could be seen by those who did not have their sleeves joined to hide them, their skin decrepit. One of them, having a gold lining to his robe, hovered higher than the others and spoke to Sinister. His voice was unusually deep.

“We knew that you would come, being of the dark. We foresaw that a progenitor of Armageddon would arrive to revive The One Being, destroying our reality to replace it with their own.”

Sinister was intrigued. “Armageddon? Who is this One Being you speak of? And just how are you able to see this particular future? Are you wizards or simply tellers of fortune?”

The lead Shadow Priest gathered a black, misty energy in his hands, eyes filled with annoyance. “You ask too many questions. We know what must be done. You will never leave this place, being of shadow.” All of the Shadow Priests started gathering the black misty energy while chanting in unison, their fingers outstretched toward Sinister. Trying to encapsulate him in a magic field, they stop after a few minutes of chanting to see that he had not been crushed or caged, completely unaffected. 

“Magic. What a feeble attempt.” Sinister waved away the black smoke, snorting with laughter. 

“How are you immune to the forces of Outworld?” The lead Shadow Priest was puzzled, the others murmuring amongst themselves with a worried tone.

“Any attempts at sorcery are child’s play to me. I see through illusions, dispel witchcraft, disregard spells and whittle your summons down to cries of pity. In short, you have no power here.” Sinister’s eyes glowed intensely as his body released a shockwave of heat, burning their robes and incinerating their bodies. Stepping through their ash, he sensed another in the room, one unlike the shadow priests. An elongated tongue lashed from the ceiling at Sinister, having him catch it before it wrapped around his neck. Yanking the tongue and the body it was attached to, he smashed his free hand against the reptile’s rib cage.

The creature smashed against the stone wall to the side of him and slid down to the floor. The creature soon found itself looking to Sinister’s hand that broiled with heat.. “W-wait! Stop!”

“Mileena told me that I might run into a pesky animal if we went after Kitana. State your name and your purpose. I don’t tend to idle for long.” He approached the creature, burning hand outstretched.

“I am Reptile, here to take Princess Kitana back to Shao Kahn. Who are you?” He held his chest, grunting in pain. Reptile wore black ninja garb with green and gold accents, his eyes clearly reptilian in nature. His mouth, hands and feet were partially covered by black bandages but the animalistic nature of his body was still apparent. Claws, talons and teeth were all sharpened for assassination.

Sinister squinted, feeling a bit insulted by his response. “I am Sinister Maharana but I suspect your name is not really Reptile, lizard. Give me respect by telling me your name.”

“Ah...no one has ever asked me for my real name before. It is Syzoth.” Reptile sat up against the wall, eyes closing while trying to regulate his breathing. 

Sinister lowered his hand from Reptile, the heat in his hand dissipating. “Nice to meet you, Syzoth. Now, where is Princess Kitana? You must have excellent tracking skills for an animal of your size.”

“Heh. Hehe. The princess….she is in the old altar room at the end of this hall. Shao Kahn gave us potions that would knock her unconscious should she become an issue. I was going to take care of her but these wandering mages couldn’t mind their business.”

“From what I gathered, she was supposed to be given back to Shao Kahn alive.”

“Dead or alive. Shao Kahn just wants a body to bury for killing Mileena.”

Sinister’s eyes lidded halfway. “Hm. And I take it you are a servant of this Shao Kahn as well? Why do you pledge your loyalty to him?”

Reptile’s breathing was becoming shallow, the injury having caused internal bleeding. “I serve Shao Kahn because he promised to resurrect my extinct race, the Saurians. We had our own home here, called Zaterra, until a war between the gods tore it apart. I was the only survivor.”

Sinister knelt down beside him, taking a look at the wound, green blood trailing down Reptile’s torso. “Do you believe he is powerful enough to resurrect an entire race?”

Reptile’s breathing calmed in his presence, surprised at the comfort he was feeling. He looked at him, unsure how to feel. “Yes. He has powerful magic at his disposal. I believe he can do anything he says he will. That is part of the reason many here in Outworld fear him. He is the emperor for a reason.”

“If one were to dethrone him, what then would be the opinion of this land?”

Reptile’s breathing was soundless, his face changing to an expression of disbelief. “Anyone who could dethrone Shao Kahn….who could kill him...they would need to be a god or an Elder God. Someone of incredible power…”

Sinister gripped Reptile’s hand, removed it from the flowing wound and placed his own hand over it. Intense purple energy flowed over the creature’s body, causing a warm sensation. Reptile’s wound slowly regenerated as a purple aura wrapped around him. “Tell me, the power that you are now feeling, is it greater than Shao Kahn’s?”

Reptile was speechless from the Nether surging through his body, holding a clawed hand over the warm wound. His mouth tried to move but every word that slid to his tongue dropped back down to his stomach. After a few minutes, he stopped trying, head tilted back against the wall while he entered a state of induced euphoria.

Sinister smiled, standing to his feet and walking down the hallway while kicking at more of the shamans’ ashes. “As suspected. Marinate in my power, let it fill you. I will return shortly.” Reaching the end of the hallway, Sinister opened two stained glass doors to see a woman dressed in blue, skin-tight ninja garb. The lower half of her face was covered with a blue veil and her eyes were a bright sapphire, darting over to him. As the two doors closed behind him, the shackles binding Kitana clacked and rustled. Sinister’s voice defined the room. “Good evening, princess.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Fuck outta here!” Major Jackson Briggs was vocal while smashing in the face of a Tarkatan soldier. A tall, muscular, black military major, “Jax” was dressed in all black BDUs with his name stitched into the sleeveless vest that showed off his bulging arms. Each arm was fitted with cybernetic enhancements that wrapped around his flesh and made his punches strong enough to lay out even the most powerful of foes. His cocky smile showed after bludgeoning one of them to death, sliding his fingers across his close-shaved head. “Whew! You sure this the way we supposed to go?!”

“You did not expect rescuing your partner to be easy, did you?” Kung Lao tossed his razor-rimmed hat through a small crowd of Tarkatans, slicing their bodies in half before circling back to his outstretched hand. Placing the sharp hat back on his head, his finger and thumb swiped across the metallic surface of the edge, cleaning the gore from his attire with a smirk. The now polished blade glinted from the ambient lighting in the Soul Chamber. He was dressed in similar garb to Liu Kang but with his hat instead of a headband, his clothing colored black and navy. Adorning his chest was an armored vest with a golden dragon along the front. “Besides, you should think of this as a warm-up, right Liu Kang?”

“Enough, you two!” Liu Kang performed a flying kick against a Tarkatan, snapping their necks from his heel’s impact across their jaw. Upon landing, his fingers curled to resemble teeth, raising one knee behind his connected wrists. A large fireball rushed from his palms, incinerating the remaining few Tarkatans. “This is not just about Sonya Blade. Have you forgotten what these creatures did to our Shaolin home? What Shao Kahn did to Earthrealm? We must avenge those who lost their lives to this bloodthirsty warlord.”

Jax, Kung Lao and Liu Kang were well on their way to the emperor, making their way through the Soul Chamber, a massive cavern within Shao Kahn’s Fortress. The pathway had large, bony spikes lining it, leading through the room from one side to the other. In the center of the pathway was an enormous tree that towers over the rest of the chamber with a demonic face, its gaping mouth showing the swirling torrent of tormented souls. The glowing green souls helped illuminate the room along with the ambient orange light coming from beneath the spiked bridge. Near the halfway point, they spotted a blonde woman lying beside the large tree.

“Sonya!” Jax yelled, running in front of Kung Lao and Liu Kang. He turned onto another spiked path that lead to the tree before being blown back by a powerful gust of air. Nearly falling to the floor, he caught himself and looked to the large tree with a being floating out of the soul torrent. The floating being was humanoid in shape, covered in a tattered, hooded robe, the hood pointed near the top. Its appendages were wrapped in dark red and black leather, the only distinguishing part of its face being the two glowing green eyes within the darkness of its hood. Slender with spectral hands reaching from the shadows of its body, it turned to Jax.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“We are Ermac, Jackson Briggs. You are trespassing and will be punished accordingly.” Green spiritual energy flowed around his body as it stretched a hand out to Jax. Using his telekinetic abilities, Ermac lifted Jax from the ground at a distance and tried to choke him. However, the psychic spirit was interrupted when Kung Lao’s bladed hat sliced into his outstretched hand, forcing him to lower it and drop Jax right next to Sonya.

“Sorry, but we’re just here to take that woman back with us to Earthrealm and kill Shao Kahn. Never meant to disturb you, spirit.” Kung Lao caught his hat, swiping the metallic edge again before entering a fighting stance. 

“We are here to guard Sonya Blade. She is to remain here until the outcome of Shao Kahn’s tournament is decided. Now leave this place or perish” Ermac gathered energy in his hands as the arms that reached from the shadows beneath his robes became more aggressive.

“We are not leaving without our friend.” Liu Kang took a fighting stance as well, flames surging along his fists. “Prepare for kombat, spirit!”

Kung Lao tossed his razor hat at Ermac again only for it to be caught telekinetically and tossed back at him. The Shaolin warrior ran at his redirected hat, leaping into the air and spinning forward to catch it. He ended his travels with a kick to the specter’s chest, his body dense enough with energy that he nearly bounced off it.

Liu Kang launched his body off the ground, performing a rapid fire bicycle kick with determined gibberish being yelped out. “Watahowatahtowahwaaaa!”

Ermac felt every thunderous kick smash against his chest, interrupting with a psychic push of energy to send him careening back to the spiked pathway. He was caught by Kung Lao, the two looking up to Ermac who was charging up another psychic attack.

A purple blast of energy slammed into Ermac’s back, causing him to shout in pain, the energy crackling loudly. Jax had one of his arms aimed at the falling specter, the cybernetic enhancements glowing with a specialized plasma. “You ain’t punishin’ nobody’!”

Ermac crashed to the ground but quickly regained his stature, floating just inches above the ground with rage in his eyes. “You dare?!”

“We do.” Kung Lao spoke confidently, looking to Liu Kang with a few nods before dashing at Ermac again. Liu Kang continued to channel flames in his hands, smiling. They knew that his telekinesis was too strong to fight hand to hand, deciding to show Ermac just how special their own abilities were. Kung Lao feinted another hat toss, seeing Ermac prepare a psychic push and transitioning into a powerful sweep instead. Knocking him out of his hovering state, Kung Lao immediately started to spin at a vicious speed. “Now!”

Battering Ermac’s body in his mystic tornado, Kung Lao finished by ricocheting him toward Liu Kang. Before Ermac could realize what was happening, Liu Kang’s surging flame rushed out in a Dragon Blast in the specter’s face. For a split second, Liu Kang witnessed exactly what was behind that large hood. The light from his flame showed handfuls of faces, different shapes, sizes and pieces molded into a wretched, gray canvas of taut skin. As Ermac was knocked to the ground from the blast, voices groaned from him and Jax tried to awaken Sonya Blade from unconsciousness.

“Sonya! Sonya, wake up! Hey!” Jax continued shaking the blonde operative, her athletic body covered in military BDU similar to Jax’s with combat boots, fingerless gloves and a pair of dog tags. Her fair complexion spread out around her green eyes as they opened, looking to Jax. 

“J...Jax? Is that you? Ugh...last thing I remember is being grabbed by Baraka. Where are we?” She sat up on her hands, one reaching up to hold her head.

“Not sure but we’re gonna get the hell outta here. Once we get to Shao Kahn, we’ll knock his ass out like we did to the creep over there.” Jax started to stand, reaching to help Sonya get on her feet. 

Sonya’s eyes opened fully with her hands embracing Jax’s. However, her voice changed from a feminine tone to that of an elderly male, words growling from their mouth. “Wrong answer!” Launching her foot into Jax’s stomach, her body pushed back and toward the swirl of souls within the large tree. She flipped him over her head, having long, ghastly limbs reach out from the soul torrent to grab at Jax. A deep groan came from the tree itself, the torrent of souls becoming restless with a fresh mortal to cling to. 

“Sonya, what are you doing?! Have you betrayed us?!” Liu Kang looked on in horror while Kung Lao rushed to the tree to assist Jax. 

“Liu Kang, you fool.” Sonya’s body shifted like liquid, a green glow overcoming her to reveal Shang Tsung underneath a feminine facade. Stroking his long, thick goatee, he chuckled. “Your impatience has lead you right into our trap. We slaughtered the Shaolin and now we shall finish you!”

Kung Lao looked on in anger but changed his attention to focus fully on Jax who was being slowly torn by the soul torrent. Kung Lao took hold of Jax’s legs, steeling himself against the spiked walkway with a body glowing rich with chi. “Liu Kang, you take care of Shang Tsung! I’ll pull Jax out!”

Liu Kang focused on Shang Tsung, running and performing a flying kick aimed right at his smiling face. Unfortunately, Shang Tsung had been watching him fight Ermac and the Tarkatans, letting him predict his movements and teleport further along the spiked pathway. Liu Kang passed through green smoke left behind, catching himself before he tipped over the edge of the bridge. “Bastard! Face me!”

‘Hehehehehe. The emperor is waiting, Liu Kang. Come defend your title, Champion of Earthrealm.” Shang Tsung started gliding down the pathway with uncanny speed, laughing all the way while Liu Kang rushed after him. 

Kung Lao knew how impulsive Liu Kang could be, especially in moments of confusion, leaning to his own understanding instead of analyzing situations. But he couldn’t focus on his Shaolin brother. He was in a deadly game of tug of war with thousands, possibly millions of souls. He slid his right foot behind him, slamming it against the bridge. Chi welled up in his body to give him a white glow, eyes flickering the heavenly hue every once in awhile. Veins forced themselves to the surface of his skin while he shouted, the only limbs still in the spirits’ possession being Jax’s arms. “Ngghh! Come...on!”

A screech sounded from the soul torrent, the face of the tree starting to contort as it was being denied a fresh spirit. Seemingly frustrated, the limbs that were previously swamping Jax’s body all sank fingers, claws, teeth and anything they could into his arms. As Kung Lao pulled him further from their grasp, flesh and muscle was being stripped from Jax’s arms, some of them rattling raw nerves. Tears started to run down Jax’s cheeks as he clenched his teeth, looking to Kung Lao and huffing. The desire to scream, to cry, welled under the surface but Jax swallowed every time his body begged him for release. His soul was steel, his mind focused on survival.

“Just….fuckin’....pull!” Jax grunted and shouted with the grimace of a bull, throat rattling with frustration.

Rising behind the Shaolin warrior and the struggling major were a pair of green eyes. They pierced through the darkness of a familiar, pointed hood. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  
  
  


Meanwhile, in The Chamber of the Elder Gods

 

“I see. So that is why they have been disappearing. It gives me all the more reason to help Liu Kang stop Shao Kahn and his madness.” Raiden had been discussing the vanishing theory with The Elder Gods in their chamber. The sacred location was an octogonal room filled with doorways, four of which were filled with the spectral, blue, androgynous faces of The Elder Gods. The floor was hard with red and white designs of marble but was shrouded with a faint mist.

The Elder Gods spoke in in ominous unison, their voices a combination of tones and pitches. “No, Raiden. Shao Kahn is not the source of this. There is another force which has come from outside the realms, outside of our universe. It has been infecting the realms with Nether, changing kombatants and devouring those who have tried to stop it. This is not a conqueror but something much more dangerous.”

“Then we must find the source and stop it immediately!”

“We are not able to intervene unless it wishes to destroy the balance of the realms. We are not able to look into the inner thoughts and machinations of this creature. It is shrouded in mystery and anonymity. All that we see is that it is corrupting people and devouring those that oppose it. It has not damaged the balance of the realms or attempted to create disharmony among them.”

Raiden appeared surprised and disturbed by the Elder Gods’ decision on the current situation, flashes of anger ringing in his voice. “But what if this creature devours all of the inhabitants of the realms? When will you intervene? When it takes the Kamidogu? When it merges the realms and comes for you? Do you not care about the lives of those in Earthrealm and beyond?!”

“Understand that we do not place ourselves as interceptors in the lives and spans of mortals but rather the eternal fate of all the realms. As long as the realms are balanced and The One Being does not resurface in its united form, then the tournament of Mortal Kombat shall be enough for you to placate the pleading of mortals. That is why we appointed you as protector of Earthrealm, Raiden. It is a troubling situation but the lesser of a more destructive fate that we are working to prevent.”

“But you must assist me in this! I can help protect Earthrealm from Shao Kahn and his forces but this goes beyond the realms! You have said it yourselves! You must ---”

“We have spoken.” The faces of the Elder Gods receded into the darkness, leaving Raiden standing in the center of the chamber.

He was contemplating what he would do next, reaching into the sash of his pants to unveil Shinnok’s Amulet. The golden plate crackled with his electric energies while the emerald in the center glowed with untold power. Raiden’s eyes momentarily flashed from electric blue to red as he spoke to himself. “If you will not, then I will.”


	4. Gang Related

     “Hanzo, I do not know if we can continue this.” A beautiful, slender Asian woman stood in the doorway of a traditional Japanese home, the double doors completely opened to show a sun-drenched garden. She dressed in a pink kimono with a red rose resting at the side of her flowing black hair. Kana Hasashi, wife of Hanzo Hasashi, contemplated in their home within the stronghold of the Shirai Ryu. 

     “What do you mean, Kana? Do not tell me you are bringing these troubles up again. They are but rumors.” Hanzo, clad in a yellow Japanese robe, stepped to stand beside Kana. He had a small goatee, black hair tied into a ponytail while his hazel eyes glanced at his wife. 

     “I can not deny what they speak when they are coupled with actions, Hanzo. Leader Takeda died just a week ago. They say his tea was poisoned after previous assassination attempts failed. Now, they rally you to become the leader. I---” Kana paused, exhaling deeply as her green eyes lidded. Her head turned away from Hanzo as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

     “The Lin Kuei are weak and paranoid. They will never lay a hand upon me, let alone you and Jubei.”

     “You are the general, Hanzo. I know that you will fight until the end but I can not. Jubei is still just an infant. It is only a matter of time---”

     “----before they are extinguished, Kana.” Hanzo sighed, stepping down the small trail of wooden steps leading from the porch and into the garden, smooth rocks and vegetation making up most of it. “The Shirai Ryu removed itself from The Lin Kuei for good reason. They all act as a hive underneath the Grandmaster, unable to fight as true warriors. Instead, they act as simple assassins, hanging onto his every word while he holds that sacred treasure. It may as well be a group of religious fanatics. They are puppets, not warriors.”

     Kana squinted at Hanzo, her face filled with worry. “Are you listening to me, Hanzo? Takeda has been murdered! You step up to take his place without even thinking of what could happen to myself or Jubei. Think about your son, Hanzo.”

     Hanzo turned back to look at Kana. “What do you think I am doing? Training soldiers, reinforcing our village, producing new strategies to eradicate the Lin Kuei --- I do all of this because of you and Jubei, Kana!”

     Their son, Jubei, started to cry from another room in the house. “I will tend to him, Hanzo.” Kana turned, walking back onto the porch and into the house.

     Hanzo sighed, turning to face the garden while Kana had gone to calm their son. “I will protect our family, Kana. Through violence, we will have peace. I swear on my life, no matter what it takes, I will protect you.” A warm breeze swept through the area as the dark orange sun was beginning to set.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Hanzo Hasashi, now Scorpion in the present, struggled to maintain the memories of his humanity. He stood in front of the Pyramid of Shinnok after crossing The Bridge of Immortality, dressed in yellow ninja garb. A yellow and silver half mask covered the lower part of his face, leaving his pupil-less eyes and part of his tan skin exposed. His muscular frame tensed when he heard voices coming from the pyramid just twenty feet away. Pushing against the ground with his black and yellow tabi, he pressed forward in a sprint until he met a group of members from The Brotherhood of Shadow. There were about twenty members wrapped in black cloth, their eyes glowing a deep violet.

     Scorpion approached the crowd of warriors, bearing two katana on his back and a rope dart tied to his belt. “Where is Quan Chi? He has not returned from his meeting with Shinnok and I do not feel his presence in the Netherrealm.”

     A female Brotherhood member stepped forward, clothed in red and black garb -- a wrap tie halter top, mid-length skirt, thigh high boots and bandaged hands which held tightly to boomerang blades. “Quan Chi and Shinnok no longer reside in this place. The pyramid now belongs to The Brotherhood of Shadow under new leadership! I am Kia and you are trespassing.”

     Scorpion stepped forward, irritated. “You will tell me where the sorcerer is. His end of the deal has yet to be fulfilled!”

     Kia brandished her blades while the other Brotherhood members surrounded her defensively, ready to face Scorpion. “As I have told you, Quan Chi has gone. Any other information is unimportant. Leave this place, specter, or suffer the consequences!”

     Scorpion entered a Hapkido stance, his blank eyes now smoldering with flames. “Then I will tear the flesh from your bones!” Scorpion pushed off into a full sprint as two Brotherhood members converged on him from either side. As each member tried to throw a punch, Scorpion parried the member on his left with one hand, breaking the man’s forearm and flipping him to the ground. He grabbed the other’s hand, crushing the bones in his grip before shoving the mangled hand through his face. As the first member laid on the ground, groaning about his broken arm, Scorpion smashed his foot through his chest and crushed his heart. All the while, his eyes stared to the other Brotherhood members with an intense fury. “FIGHT!”

     The other seventeen Brotherhood members attempted to rush Scorpion all at once only for the ninja to vanish in a wave of Hellfire, appearing on the other side of the crowd. He rammed his hand through the chest of one of the members, firing a blast of Hellfire that incinerated his newest victim, as well as five others. Seventeen had just become eleven in a matter of seconds. Deciding not to take any chances, ten of them unveiled various weaponry, such as maces, clubs, axes and swords, all finding hand to hand combat to be futile. One of them started chanting an incantation while Kia watched from the side, trying to pick the perfect moment to behead Scorpion with her boomerang blades. She paced around the entrance like a wild cat, stalking the specter as he fought.

     Scorpion pulled both katana from the sheathes along his back, spinning them in his hands. He drew a half circle in front of him with the edge of one of the blades, daring them to rush him again. Filled with confidence, the remaining Brotherhood members all stormed at Scorpion. Sounds of parried metal and the slicing of flesh accompanied the gurgling screams of the Brotherhood members as Scorpion butchered their bodies and their willpower. Though Scorpion was drenched in blood, none of it was his own. He pointed at the remaining, chanting Brotherhood member with one of the swords, shaking his head. 

     “This place shall be your grave, specter!” The last Brotherhood member finished his incantation, his body infused with violet energy as he grew to twice Scorpion’s height. His muscles ripped most of the black cloth that covered his body, revealing dark gray skin and glowing violet veins traversing every inch of his body. His glowing eyes bulged as he roared at Scorpion, pounding his chest to intimidate him. 

     Scorpion hurled one of his katana at the monstrous follower and ran after it with his other katana gripped in both hands, dragging the edge along the ground. The first katana was knocked away by the large creature, bringing his fists up to smash down against Scorpion. The specter brought the edge of the katana in front of him, jamming it into the ground before leaping off the ground and off the buttcap of the sword. His body continued to ascend after the creature smashed his hands into the ground, missing Scorpion entirely. It was then that he heard his final words.

     “Get over here!” Arcing over the creature’s body, Scorpion launched his infamous rope dart from his waist to impale through the back of his skull. Hooking to the creature’s forehead, Scorpion performed a spin, summoning his supernatural strength to lift the creature off the ground and pull him into the momentary aerial spin. At the end of the arc, the creature’s body impacted the ground with a devastating slam, leaving most of his bones shattered. Scorpion landed safely in front of the downed monster, the specter wrapping the rope around one arm. He yanked his rope dart back to his body, bringing the creature’s torn head along with him. 

     Scorpion sensed something imminent, spinning about to see one of Kia’s boomerang blades inches from his face. He turned his face to the side, the tossed boomerang shearing against his half mask and slicing an inch long wound under and above his left eye. Grunting in annoyance, Scorpion looked to Kia standing in the entrance door with her arm outstretched. Catching her boomerang, she started to laugh as blood began to trail down Scorpion’s face.

     “Impressive, specter. I can see why Quan Chi revived you. Too bad the rest of your clan will never be so lucky.”

     Scorpion’s brows furrowed as he extended the length of his rope dart, the creature’s bleeding head still attached at the end. Swinging it like a flail at his side, he had a running start toward Kia, prompting her to throw a boomerang blade. As it rushed toward Scorpion, he lowered the head at the end of his rope dart and kicked it to meet the blade in the air. The boomerang sliced through the creature’s head while Scorpion transitioned into a slide, now dodging the boomerang completely this time around. Kia’s face filled with shock when she saw that the edge of Scorpion’s rope dart was again exposed, headed straight for her chest. Before Kia could throw her other blade, the dart sank into her sternum.

     Scorpion yanked the rope, using her body as a weight to slide between her legs. Kia looked down at Scorpion in confusion, then looked ahead to see her own boomerang blade had returned with her unprepared. The boomerang sliced her head in half, the weapon continuing on into the vast, first floor of the pyramid until it clattered onto the ground. Kia’s tongue fell into her mouth as she collapsed to the ground, a plethora of organs oozing from her exposed skull. Scorpion retrieved his rope dart from her body, flicking the blood off as it was tightened back to his waist.

     “I sense you will not either, wretch.” Flames surrounded his scattered katanas as they were teleported back to him, gripping their handles and sheathing them. He looked on to the torch-lit first floor, nothing but gold brick and a massive stairwell that led to the upper floors. He reached Shinnok’s throne room in but a few minutes, seeing large broken skeletal hands near Shinnok’s throne and blood slicking the dark brick floor. Treading inside, he wiped the blood from the fresh scar that ran along his left eye, Hellfire beginning to cauterize his wound. As he knelt down to examine the skeletal hands and trails of blood, a gasp caught his attention.

     He turned to the far corner opposite of the throne with one hand on his katana handle, calling out to the noise. “Show yourself, Brotherhood of Shadow, or face the wrath of Scorpion once more!”

     “No, please!” Her words ended with a small bout of sniffles and tears, a female figure emerging from the shadows. Her outfit is similar in nature to Kia’s but with black tattoo designs around her eyes and a streak of white through her shoulder-length black hair. “I mean no harm, I swear!”

     Scorpion approached her cautiously, drawing his sword in suspicion. “You wear their garb but proclaim to be peaceful? Identify yourself and do not mince words.”

     She started to calm down, if only to respond without fear disrupting her speech. “Sareena. I am called Sareena, Scorpion.”

     “You know of me? Then you must know Quan Chi. Where has the sorcerer gone to?!” His hand clutched the katana tightly, anger welling in his face.

     Sareena pressed her back to the brick wall, her palms pressed flat behind her as her eyes followed every movement of Scorpion’s blade. “I..I don’t know where he is.”

     Scorpion brought the edge of his sword to Sareena’s throat. “Liar!”

     Sareena’s breathing became quick and heavy. “No! I don’t know where he is! I don’t! But I do know what happened! I was here! I was hidden here, watching! Please!”

     “Speak! Do not waste my time, demon.”

     “Yes, yes. Umm...I saw Quan Chi meeting with Shinnok here in his throne room. I had been ordered to stay on the first floor with Kia and Jataaka with the rest of the Brotherhood. I just wanted to see what was happening since Quan Chi said they would be bringing another into the fold. It was strange because---”

     Scorpion stepped closer to her, the blade pressed against her neck, on the tipping point of slicing into her skin. “Out with it!”

     “Okay! There was somebody else in the room! I didn’t know who they were but they looked like some type of shadow being or something. They had different colored eyes, one red and one yellow. Hair was twisted along his skull and his body was lined with craters of red energy. I’ve never seen anything like him in all the realms, not even the Netherrealm. He killed Quan Chi and took Shinnok somewhere, but I’m guessing he killed him too.”

     “Is that all you know?”

     “No….no, there were others here. Mileena was brought to be recruited into the fold but the shadow being took her somewhere. He originally wanted someone named Bi Han. There was also another man who served him. I believe he said his name was Noob but I’m not sure. After that, I hid here for fear that he would return to lay waste to the rest of the Brotherhood but he never came. That is all I know.”

     “Is that so?”

     “Yes! Yes, that’s it. I swear it. That is all I’ve seen.”

     Scorpion kept his blade to her neck for a few moments before retracting it, carrying it at his side with a look of contemplation strewn across his face. “If you saw him die and he truly is gone then...my clan, my family --- they shall never return.”

     Sareena kept herself pressed against the wall but raised a hand to rub at her throat. “I understand the bargain that Quan Chi had with you. I am sorry.”

     “With the sorcerer dead, I will never return to the life I had with her. Again, my chance of having a life with my family and clan was stolen from me!” Rage boiled under Scorpion’s flesh, his eyes burning with injustice. The katana shook in his hand as he tried to control himself, the slow realization that he would never see his family or clan again despite his efforts tearing apart any sense of sanity he had remaining.

     Sareena reached out cautiously to place a hand on Scorpion’s shoulder, her brows arching in concern. “Scorpion...I...we can find a way---”

     Functioning on a hair trigger in his moment of lividity, Scorpion took Sareena’s offer as a taunt and viciously sliced through her body with his katana. The strength of the blow was strong enough to carve into the pyramid wall behind her, driving the edge through golden brick. The edge of the blade stopped just after it had carved diagonally from her waist to her skull. Sareena’s expressions were soon muted as death overtook her, both uneven halves sloppily falling to the floor by Scorpion’s feet. It took minutes for his assault to register, as if his body acted while he remained in a state of rage that made him inept to his surroundings.

     Blinking, Scorpion dragged his katana off the wall, looking to Sareena’s mutilated body below. As his brain burned with the reality he had to face, fantasy crept in, having him see Kana’s body on the ground instead of Sareena’s. Tears welled in his eyes as he dropped the katana, kneeling down to cradle her lopsided upper body. His delirium spoke back to him in Kana’s voice.

     “Hanzo...you said….you...said..” Blood oozed from the lips of the illusory Kana as her graying eyes looked to Scorpion.

     “Kana…? No. I could never do this to you. It...it was Sub Zero!”

     Kana coughed up blood, gritting her teeth. “You lied to us…..you said….you said that you were doing….all those things….to pro..tect us. But the...Shirai Ryu...their rivalry….your….arrogance...cost us….our lives…”

     Scorpion shook his head, holding her severed body closer to him while he pulled the blood-soaked hair from her face. “No! That is not what I wanted at all! I worked to strengthen the Shirai Ryu, to eliminate the Lin Kuei and---”

     “And...what, Hanzo? W...what would you have done then?” Kana coughed up more blood, on the verge of “dying” again. “Shirai Ryu….Lin Kuei...all assassins….they live….to take the lives of others...their riches covered in blood...I wanted a humble life...with you, with Jubei...but you….”

     “Kana...all I wanted was my family, protected. Safe.”

     “N...no, Hanzo. All you wanted….was to kill….excuses to kill….pride in murder...now, you have your excuses…..the lives to quench your bloodlust…” Kana was on the verge of tears, her lower lip trembling as she started to cry. Her breaths became shallow, choking on her own blood before death overtook her again, falling limp in Scorpion’s arms.

     The throne room fell silent except for the slow tempo of blood dripping from Sareena’s lip to splash on the cool floor. For an hour, Scorpion held the piece of Sareena as it gradually grew cold over time, her blood staining his hands. He eventually let her body slide out his hands and off his fingers with a wet, cold splat on the stone floor. Fingers curled inward to form fists, his body shaking violently.

     Hellfire engulfed The Pyramid of Shinnok, evaporating The Sea of Immortality in a fury unbound.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Grunts of effort were heard within an ancient temple in the arctic, followed by a single word after every attempt had paused. “Again.”

     Kuai Liang, younger brother of Bi Han and the new Sub-Zero, was training another cryomancer. They were within the confines of the Lin Kuei Palace which was located in an arctic countryside in Earthrealm’s China. He wore the same blue and black ninja garb his brother did but with a scar underneath and above his right eye. A circular medallion with the insignia of a dragon was pinned against his blue armored vest along the right side of his chest. He had his arms, perpetually exuding icy mist, crossed over his chest in one of the temple’s training rooms. The person he was ordering to repeat the demonstration was Frost, a young female Lin Kuei ninja.

     Apart from Sub-Zero and Frost, there were training dummies made of wood for Frost to practice on. The outer layers were stuffed with thick layers of duck feathers, sand and cotton to simulate the different layers of muscle and bone. But Frost did not agree on using dummies for practice.

     “Grandmaster, why are we not training against one another? This all seems pointless, especially with the mission happening soon.” By this time, Frost had stopped striking the training dummies. Her ice blue hair was short and spiked up, resembling icicles. Her eyes were a natural blue, having a frosty glaze across them at any given time. Her body was slender yet muscular, clothed in the same blue and black ninja garb all others of the Lin Kuei wore. With her mouth covered by a similarly colored half mask, she glared at Sub-Zero.

     “You ask these questions but you know the answers, Frost. The rest of the Lin Kuei are gathering for our pre-deployment rally. The time for sparring with one another is over. However, with you being one of the most inexperienced, I decided that you may require some additional training outside of sparring to help prepare you for the mission.”

     Frost scoffed, knocking over one of the training dummies with a backhand. “Additional training? Inexperienced? Grandmaster, I could take on those Outworlders just as well as anyone else in the Lin Kuei. Have you forgotten how I proved myself to even be here?”

     Sub-Zero shook his head, approaching Frost. “You may have proven yourself to be a strong Lin Kuei warrior but that is only concerning your physical prowess. You have yet to understand the wisdom of patience and peace within the throes of battle. Your inexperience lies in the philosophical, not the physical. You have a great way to go before you are ready to take on any Outworlder on your own.”

     Frost’s hands curled into fists as ice overtook them, her face riddled with anger over Sub-Zero’s perception of her. In response, Sub-Zero’s eyes started to glow blue, the Dragon Medallion on his chest resonating with power. Frost submitted to the brief contest of might, understanding that Sub-Zero had a different kind of power, one she couldn’t currently fathom.

     “Sub-Zero!” A ninja dressed similarly to the Lin Kuei approached Sub-Zero from the entrance, the color of his uniform gray instead of blue. Long, silver hair flowed down to his shoulders as wisps of smoke constantly emanated from his body. This was the Lin Kuei ninja known as Smoke.

     Sub-Zero turned to greet him, his eyes conveying joy as he smiled beneath his half mask. “Greetings, Smoke. I assume all the men have been gathered up in the main hall?

     “Yes. Everyone is waiting for you.”

     Frost’s face was filled with disgust at Smoke and his friendly discussion with Sub-Zero, walking off from them to join the others. Both Smoke and Sub-Zero watched her storm off, Smoke voicing his disapproval.

     “I trust you will be keeping a close eye on her during this mission, yes?”

     Sub-Zero started walking slowly with Smoke to the Main Hall just a few rooms away, his sigh visualized by the chilled air blowing from his half mask. “She is strong but has the potential to get herself in a great deal of danger. She is difficult but she will come around.”

     Smoke appeared more concerned than Sub-Zero, looking ahead. “Even more, she could endanger the whole Lin Kuei should her arrogance influence foolish decisions such as rushing the enemy or even underestimating them. When we step into Outworld, we will need to have the utmost care in completing our mission in the way prescribed.”

     Sub-Zero’s arms dropped from his chest while he walked, placing them behind his back instead. “I won’t allow for her to endanger the Lin Kuei, Smoke. There has been enough danger and dishonor from Sektor and his kind.”

     There was silence for a time as they walked to the Main Hall. It was when they walked to the halfway point near the entrance that Smoke turned to Sub-Zero to speak again. “I wanted to thank you for what you did for me, Kuai Liang. For saving me from that fate. If it were not for you, my heart and soul would have been stolen by The Tekunin.”

     Sub-Zero stopped, turning to Smoke while the sounds of chattering Lin Kuei warriors could be heard in the next room. “As long as I breathe, Tomas, you will remain whole. Besides, the scar gives me a more experienced look, don’t you think?” Sub-Zero tapped Smoke’s back and laughed, leading them both into the Main Hall. The hall had the architecture of a massive Oriental space, complete with ornate pillars, artistic floor designs and a large elevated platform at the front of the room. The platform was elevated about five feet, covered in thin layers of frost just like the rest of the temple. The sun crept through the few windows the temple had, glinting off the Lin Kuei’s armored garb. 

     Sub-Zero and Smoke took to the platform in front of a crowd of a few hundred Lin Kuei members. Frost had slipped into the crowd, looking at the two from afar. “Lin Kuei, hear me! For years, we have been training as assassins, as warriors who seek to improve ourselves through kombat and education. However, as you all may have heard, there are forces which seek to disrupt not only our way of life but the lives of all the realms.”

     Sub-Zero unleashed a continuous blast of ice to the spot beside him, progressively angling his arms in an upward course to finish his ice sculpture of Shao Kahn. The figure had its hands on its waist, eyes of ice staring into the crowd as it towered even over Sub-Zero a few feet. “The Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn, has crafted his own Mortal Kombat tournament and seeks to claim Earthrealm on his own terms. This madman has been trying to conquer the realms for millennia and, with the assistance of Shang Tsung, he is the closest he has ever been to doing so. By twisting the rules of this age-old tradition, Shao Kahn wishes for kombatants to fight in his realm where he is the judge. I have chosen Smoke and myself to compete in this tournament. The rest of the Lin Kuei will follow to make sure that Shao Kahn’s minions do not sully the sanctity of Mortal Kombat further with their underhanded schemes.”

     Frost was visibly upset upon hearing her exclusion from joining the tournament, mumbling under her breath. 

     “Remember, we stand against anyone who would not only threaten Earthrealm but The Lin Kuei. When we go to Outrealm in the coming hours, understand that which you represent -- pride, humility, wisdom, strength and stealth. The Lin Kuei embodies all these things which guide us and those around us to a common path towards peace.” Sub-Zero looked over the crowd, the ninjas’ eyes all aimed at him in a respectful silence. “Are there any questions before we ready ourselves to embark?”

     “Why are you still alive, murderer?” The crowd of ninjas divided to reveal Scorpion standing amongst them, his blank eyes staring down Sub-Zero. Steam rose off of his body, the ground quietly sizzling beneath his feet. The yellow of his uniform was darkened and charred, smoke rising from his half mask in steady wisps. 

     Sub-Zero’s eyes lidded halfway, staring back at Scorpion. “A question that I am sure many have asked of you, Scorpion.”

     Frost backed up from Scorpion momentarily, coming to recognize his uniform. “A Shirai Ryu! How dare you invade our temple! You will die!” Frost pulled her ice daggers from their sheaths, dashing at the specter.

     “Frost, stand down!”

     Scorpion’s left hand rushed to grip Frost’s throat before she could get into position to strike, raising her feet off the ground. Flames broiled in his eyes while the rest of the Lin Kuei cautiously stanced themselves for battle. In seconds, Frost’s daggers melted into a puddle beneath her, asphyxiation gripping her body while steam rolled from her icy hair. A red glow briefly enveloped along her throat as she and Scorpion shared a short gaze.  “The frost will become mist.”

     Sub-Zero’s eyes glowed an intense blue as the entire Main Hall dropped phenomenally in temperature, the floor freezing over. His voice boomed. “Scorpion, release her! Your business is with me.”

     Scorpion looked to Sub-Zero, noticing Smoke gesturing as if he were ready to dart at him at any moment, the rest of the Lin Kuei ready to strike should he not listen to the Grandmaster. “So it is.” Scorpion threw Frost away from him, her steaming body sliding across the icy floor until a group of Lin Kuei caught her. 

     Frost coughed, struggling to breathe only to get out a single phrase. “Get the hell off me!” The Lin Kuei backed away from her as she staggered to the far side of the room, seething at her injuries. 

     “Come, Scorpion. Let us meet elsewhere in the temple. It has been proven that we can fight like warriors. Let us speak as men.” Sub-Zero briefly turned to look at Smoke before gesturing Scorpion to follow him. “Tomas, keep the men focused and tend to Frost until she has recovered.”

     Smoke nodded, heading over to rally the men to prepare for the mission as Sub-Zero and Scorpion walked deeper into the Lin Kuei temple. They soon arrived in the back of the temple, walking across a short bridge and onto a frozen lake. A good distance from the temple was a frozen waterfall plagued with icicles and frost that solidified into a wall. Although the sun wrapped its warmth around the courtyard, the ice refused to budge and did not melt or change form from the temperature. Scorpion stopped right before the frozen lake, watching the ice start to bubble from his presence as Sub-Zero remained at the other end.

     “Where is your master, Quan Chi? Has he sent you to kill more of us? If so, this will be a very brief and uncomfortable meeting for you, specter.”

     Scorpion scoffed, turning his head to the side with his back facing Sub-Zero. “Quan Chi lives no longer. Some...force has eliminated him. But I did not come here because of him or because of our murderous clans. I came here to encourage you to let go of the Lin Kuei.”

 

     Sub-Zero gathered himself for a moment after hearing that. “Let go of the Lin Kuei? I know madness has enraptured your soul, Scorpion, but even you should understand that the Lin Kuei will not fall.”

     “No, it will not. It must be pushed down and kept down. The brutality that you and your warriors exhibit are barely veiled by your desire for peace in Earthrealm. I have come to understand that my clan will not return and, in that understanding, I have found the true meaning for my existence.” He turned to face Sub-Zero. “But you still cling to these weak warriors when the realms belong to the strong, to those who offer no quarter.”

     “This is just the type of brutal philosophical nonsense I would expect from the leader of the Shirai Ryu. Sektor and his people departed us when we did not give way to the Cyber Initiative. I suggest you do the same. We will not become murderers.”

     “But you already are! The Lin Kuei killed me, my clan and my family. My clan’s hands are just as unclean, just as vicious. I have come to accept that now, which is why I don’t have your head on a pike. I am telling you to see things in a different perspective, as my eyes have been opened to the truth.”

     Sub-Zero warily stepped closer to Scorpion, still on his guard. “What Truth?”

     “That I was destined to be a wraith all along. Even before I had this form, I carried a fury against all those who opposed the Shirai Ryu. Against you and your brother.”

     “You know?”

     “You don’t carry yourself the same way as the Sub-Zero that killed me, Kuai Liang. He had a rage that consumed him but I was his better, avenging my clan through his murder. But you carry his colors, his title and his clan on your shoulders. You should eliminate them so that you can become a true warrior, as I have. No attachments, no obligations to anyone but yourself.”

     Sub-Zero stopped midway to his walk toward Scorpion, seriously questioning his train of thought. “I appreciate your change of heart against my family, Scorpion. However, what you ask is completely absurd. They are more than just my clan; they are also family. Smoke is my best friend and like a brother to me. What you ask goes beyond the realm of consideration; It is mindless slaughter for the sake of personal gain, the same sort of selfish conquest that we are trying to halt in Shao Kahn’s case.”

     “So, you decline my offer? I expected it from someone such as yourself, Sub-Zero. As I have heard it, you are attempting to restructure the Lin Kuei as protectors of Earthrealm. “ Scorpion reached into a side pocket along his belt, pulling out a fist-sized red gem. It was cut in the shape of a diamond, glowing an eerie red. “I recovered a few items from Quan Chi’s lair just in case my path were to be obstructed by more than just force. According to his notes, this is the Eye of Chitian. It gives the wielder two properties, the first being the ability to travel between realms.”

     Sub-Zero gazed at the crystal, shifting his stare to Scorpion. “And the second?”

     A bloodcurdling scream could be heard from inside the temple, prompting Sub-Zero to turn around in shock. Scorpion gripped the gem tightly in his hand before securing it back into his side pouch. “You should check on the youngling named Frost. She seems prone to violence.”

     Sub-Zero turned back to Scorpion, in a state of confusion and rage. He grit his teeth, considering attacking Scorpion but the Lin Kuei’s safety was more important. Even still, it took another scream for him to bolt back into the temple with Scorpion vanishing in a small pillar of Hellfire. Sub-Zero burst into the room adjacent to the Main Hall to see throngs of Lin Kuei warriors being frozen solid, shattered by strikes from an infuriated Frost. Her eyes were glowing a furious crimson, the malevolent energy flowing out from her eyes. 

     “Rrrraaaaaaaggghh! The Medallion will be mine!” One after another, members were overpowered by Frost’s overwhelming strength and raw cryomancer capabilities. The dark power that was fueling her rampage removed any limits she may have had, prompting her to slaughter indiscriminately with only the goal of getting Sub-Zero’s Dragon Medallion in mind.

     “Frost, stop this! These are your brothers! This is your clan!” Sub-Zero gathered ice in his hands as Frost cast her attention to him, pillars of ice rupturing the ground around her body. 

     Frost summoned ice along her feet to close the fifty foot gap between her and Sub-Zero, racing toward him on an icy slide. Formed along her fingernails were dense ice claws, sharpened to a point. “Give me the Medallion or die, Grandmaster!”

     As Frost started to approach Sub-Zero’s gesturing form, a wisp of smoke crossed her field of vision before her face was violently smashed to the side. She was knocked off of her ice slide prematurely and crashed a good ten feet away from Sub-Zero, her state of consciousness questionable. The wisp of smoke solidified with the rest of the strange vapor into Lin Kuei Ninja, Smoke. He looked to Sub-Zero, shaking his head with worry. “Kuai Liang! I don’t know what happened. She just...her rage overwhelmed us. We have to stop her, now!”

     A giant shard of ice rushed from the ground between Smoke and Sub-Zero, missing them by mere inches. The sudden attack was traced back to the downed Frost, her arm extended with teeth clenched tight. Smoke rushed at her while she continued the quick ice shard attacks, attempting to impale him. Smoke dodged each one as he closed the distance, disappearing and reappearing in clouds of vapor. In the middle of another attack, Smoke had reached Frost as she was trying to stand, knocking her back down with a fierce kick to the jaw. Before she could turn to face him, the ninja mounted her chest, pressing a palm against her cheek to keep her head turned to the side.

     “Calm yourself, Frost! Do not bring more dishonor to yourself.” Smoke heard faint chuckling before a reverberating growl from Frost.

     “Let us see if smoke can freeze.” The moisture on her body solidified into ice, shooting up into Smoke’s body and mutilating him. Blood dripped from Smoke’s mask as he and Frost were conjoined on the ice spikes. His head had missed them by inches as one of the spikes pricked his throat, Smoke’s eyes warping into a smoky black.

     “No! Smoke, Frost, stop!” Sub-Zero was in a rare moment of uncertainty as his world unraveled around him, Scorpion appearing at his side with a hand placed upon his shoulder.

     “It won’t stop until they are dead, just like the rest of your clan.” The red jewel glowed ominously on Scorpion’s belt, prompting Sub-Zero to step back from him while Smoke and Frost continued to struggle on the ground.

     “You did this. Why?! Are you so vengeful over your clan that you would destroy our entire organization? Manipulate my students, my friends?!”

     “Sub-Zero, Kuai Liang, you carry the sins of your brother on your shoulders just as I carried the sins of my people upon mine. In order for us both to be free, to be unrestrained warriors, we must answer to these sins and destroy our clans.”

     The entire room began to freeze with ice quickly covering the ceiling, floors and exits to keep them locked within. Sub-Zero’s eyes were filled with rage toward Scorpion as blue veins rushed to the surface of his frosted skin. “You have become as deluded as Shao Kahn in your quest for vengeance, Scorpion. You shall not leave this place alive. The rivalry between the Lin Kuei and The Shirai Ryu, Sub-Zero and Scorpion ---- IT ENDS HERE!”

     “Yes, it does” Scorpion looked to Sub-Zero as he pointed to Smoke and Frost, a thick, dark cloud of vapor surrounding them both. Smoke’s body was shifting, warping as if a rage had overtaken him so greatly that he could not stand to maintain his physical state. Lashes of flame roused within the vapor as Smoke pulled his arms off of the ice pillars to wrap his hands around Frost’s throat.

     Smoke’s voice became deeper than usual, his silver hair dispersing into dust while his skin darkened to a horrifying gray. His eyes mirrored the smoky flames of the vapor that encapsulated them both, bodies starting to vibrate. “You dishonor yourself and the Lin Kuei, Frost! You shall face judgement for your actions!”

     “ENOUGH!” Sub-Zero’s powers became unhinged, a wave of cryogenic energy exploding from his body to bring the entirety of the temple into a deep freeze. Silence filled the place with faint winds blowing through to interrupt the uneasy peace that he had created with his outburst. Breathing heavy, Sub-Zero clenched his fists and fell to his knees, trying to bring sense to the situation. It was then that he heard Scorpion’s voice, the environment molding back to the courtyard bridge.

     “The second is the ability to control anyone in its presence, according to Quan Chi’s writings.” Scorpion put the jewel away in the side pocket of his belt, the glow soon dimming.

     Sub-Zero looked back to the temple, seeing that it was unscathed and that what he experienced was most likely not what he initially believed. “An item of illusion…”

     “Is what you saw enough to convince you of what we must do?”

     Sub-Zero looked down, closing his eyes and smiling. He soon bowed to Scorpion, much to the other’s confusion. “Then you have shown me the thoughts I must purge, the suspicion I must hone in order to prevent such dissension among the ranks.”

     Scorpion’s self-assurance quickly faded as Sub-Zero spoke words of wisdom, truly the antithesis of his brother Bi-Han. “You choose a fool’s path, Kuai Liang.”

     Sub-Zero returned to an upright position, glancing at Scorpion. “I would be if I accepted your offer. I will continue to reform the Lin Kuei, Scorpion. No specter or sorcerer will interrupt that process as long as I am Grandmaster. Now, if there is no other business you have come here for, I suggest you take your leave. Our clan has a mission to conduct.”

     Scorpion clenched his fist, snorting a short burst of smoke and fire from his mask before vanishing in a plume of fire. “You will regret the decision you have made today, Lin Kuei Warrior. I guarantee it.”

     Sub-Zero scoffed as Smoke emerged from the temple behind him. “Sub-Zero, is everything alright? What did that demon want?”

     Sub-Zero shook his head, turning to Smoke and walking toward the temple. “Peace, Smoke. Unfortunately, he was not yet ready to receive it.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Meanwhile, inside Charred Mountain

 

     Two work lights illuminated a tall, muscular man from either side of him. The lights highlighted his most prominent features, such as the scars along his eyes, his bald head and the armor that lined his shoulders, forearms and lower body. The most prominent feature was the tattoo of a dragon that lined the right side of his face. His black boots crunched along the concrete as he turned about to an approaching figure, showing the red, gold and black colors of his armor with the cross-shaped suspenders that connected along his chest. “What have you learned?”

     The man who approached the muscular figure was dressed in a red and black bodysuit, his face covered in an armored mask as he knelt. “Sir, we have learned that the Outworld Tournament has begun. The previous champion, Liu Kang, is currently fighting with Shao Kahn’s forces along with other Earthrealm Warriors. Among the fighters in the tournament, we have seen Black Dragon forces We were only able to confirm Kano and a ninja with stone skin.”

     The muscular man turned back around to face a large control panel, large glowing orange eyes hovering just behind the panel. “Then his forces are still meager. We will nip them in the bud before they grow too troublesome. Have you found any of the missing men?”

     The subordinate shook his head. “No, sir. The past few weeks, our forces have been dwindling. At first, we suspected it was the Black Dragon’s doing but the disappearances have been throughout different realms and in vast numbers. It is highly improbable that they are behind it.”

     The muscular man stroked his black goatee, shades of gray intermingling throughout. “Yes. Whatever is happening is way over their heads. I previously believed The Tekunin were to blame but they have been reclusive as of late. Nevertheless, we will continue to investigate. Return to your post and continue monitoring The Tournament for intel. You are dismissed.”

     The subordinate rose to his feet, bowing before receding into the shadows.

     The muscular man focused on the glowing eyes just a few feet in front of him as a scaly red creature emerged from the darkness, its head leaning toward him. Its motions were stopped by the metal collar around its neck, the dragon’s restraints bolted to the floor. He reached out to brush fingers along the side of the dragon’s face, concerned. “Shinnok has gone from the realms, Caro. Most of my men, most people from different realms --- completely gone. I wonder if this is part of father’s game, as well.”

     The dragon spoke in a reverberating voice, low and tired. “I am unsure, Daegon.”

     The muscular male, Daegon, scoffed at the dragon. “Someone or something is manipulating things at a scale that I don’t plan on tolerating much longer. This is not the work of an ordinary clan. This is a determined work.”

     The dragon, Caro’s, head rested on top of the control panel, its eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. Its body was riddled with old injuries, the very texture of his flesh changed by the amount of scars he was covered in. “What will you do?”

     Daegon’s left eye remained a milky white, his right glowing red with an unknown energy. “We will require the assistance of dragons.”

     “Do you wish for me to create another portal?”

     Daegon shook his head, looking to an image that was pulled up on the control panel. His fingers traced along a hulking silhouette, its four arms tearing a warrior to pieces. “Not you, Caro. It is time we summon the Shokan.”


	5. Royal Blood

     A prince sat in shame upon his throne, contemplating his rule. Brows furrowed over red eyes, all four arms pressing their hands together as if waiting for something important to occur. Instead, they briefly disconnected from the sound of a deep, feminine voice calling from the throne room entrance.

     “Goro! What are you doing?!” The voice originated from Sheeva. A member of the Shokan, the half-human, half-dragon race known for their ferocity in battle, she was surprised to see the prince of the Shokan in such a state. The chamber itself was no larger than a standard gymnasium with six diagonal pillars lining the walls, three on each side. At the end of those pillars were the heads of heroes who had fought the Shokan and fallen, their expressions mirroring their final screams before death. A carpeted walkway lead from the entrance and stopped just ten feet from Goro’s throne seat, the end being a circular platform that rested above a pool of lava. 

     Goro leaned over in his seat befitting of a giant, looking to the gold dragon symbol at the center of the circular platform. The Mortal Kombat symbol that reminded him of his failure as a prince. “I am resting, Sheeva. Why have you come to me?

     “How can you rest at a time like this? Your people demand action and you take none! Shao Kahn has begun his tournament, Goro.” Sheeva’s long, black mohawk whipped along her shoulders as she stared down Goro, black spots similar to a leopard's trailing from her upper back and out to the back of her limbs. Silver bangles adorned her ankles and wrists while a red thong leotard pressed against her massive bust and muscular frame. As a high-ranking Shokan warrior, she was one of the few who could grace Goro’s presence with such vitriol.

     “And what am I to tell them? Shao Kahn has made his decision and Shang Tsung recruits the Tarkatans instead. I must contemplate on what to do next.” Goro pursed his lips together, not sure if even he could believe such half-hearted optimism.

     Sheeva treaded along the walkway, reaching the end. “You are the prince. You should be rallying your people instead of Kintaro. You bring dishonor to your title with this behavior, moping like a child.”

     Sheeva’s words stoked a fire in Goro, forcing him upright from his throne chair. “Watch yourself, Sheeva!  My disposition does not define my power.”

     Sheeva scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “It may as well have. You need to address your people. There is trouble brewing amongst them.”

     A crimson portal opened at the side of Sheeva and Goro, a projection of Daegon’s body appearing before them. “There is much more happening than you think, Shokan.”

     “Daegon.” Goro looked to the portal with fists clenched. “Sheeva, leave us.”

     “What business do you have with this---”

     “Sheeva! Take leave.” Goro’s velvet red cape fluttered with the strength of his voice, those red eyes commanding Sheeva to leave with their gaze.

     “Very well, Prince Goro.” Sheeva bowed out of respect, giving Daegon’s projection a suspicious look before leaving his throne room.

     “You seem to have trouble keeping your people on a tight leash. I hope you aren’t losing power in your kingdom, Prince Goro.” Daegen smiled, arms behind his back.

     “Speak reason of your presence, half-god.”

     Daegon looked to Goro with a serious expression, sighing. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that people have been disappearing throughout the realms, much faster than anything that’s been seen before. Just today, the entire village of Makeba vanished from Outworld.”

     Goro shrugged. “And what of it? Shao Kahn has laid waste to many who refused to accept his rule. Those Tarkatans act as wild dogs, leaving none in their wake.”

     “Except this wasn’t the work of Tarkatans. I’ve had my men sweep that place inside and out. Do you know what they found? Nothing. Not one shred of struggle or resistance. No bodies. No blood. Absolutely nothing was out of place.” Daegon’s brows lowered, his anger rising. “They simply disappeared without a trace. Those same men went out for a field mission and never returned themselves.”

     “Then what do you suspect? A new type of sorcery from Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn? Perhaps Lord Shinnok---”

     The crimson portal pulsed with an abnormal amount of energy to translate Daegon’s irritation. “Lord Shinnok is gone as well, Goro! I have come to you because a quarter of your Shokans have gone missing while you meander in your throne room, reminiscing of your loss to that Earthrealm warrior. This is why a resistance has formed against you, not out of shame but fear.”

     Goro looked to Daegon, unsure of what he just said. “The Shokan fear no one.”

     Daegon laughed. “Yet here you are, fearful of a human and his forces.”

     Goro stepped to the projection, growling. “You are truly ignorant of our ways, fool!”

     “Am I? I came to understand the Shokan as beings of strength and pride, both of which you have failed to display.” Daegon chuckled.

     “You--!” Goro was moments from leaping at the projection until he realized the foolishness involved in such an effort.

     “I also understand that ‘survival of the fittest’ is the law of the land. The weak will not survive. If you wish to continue your reign as prince and ascend to becoming king of your people, then I am the only chance you have. Alone, you will fall to the threat to come.”

     Goro snorted, sitting down in his throne chair with an unsatisfied expression. “And what must I offer in return?”

     “Your blood.” Daegon’s projection flickered before filling the throne room with an immense red flash.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     “Hyaaauuh!” Liu Kang’s flying kick knocked a Tarkatan warrior on his back, followed with a kick that broke his neck. Raising the heel of his shoe from the creature’s face, he stared down Shang Tsung. “Now, face me, sorcerer!”

     Liu Kang was infuriated, standing in the midst of Shao Kahn’s throne room.. Chinese pillars, polished floors and a massive, skull-shaped throne were always the first objects to draw a newcomer’s eyes. The Emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn, could barely be seen except for the glowing red eyes peering out from the shadows. Shang Tsung stood beside Shao Kahn’s seat, noticeably younger with smooth black hair and nourished muscles. 

     “Surely you did not believe that facing the Tarkata was anything other than a warm up, Liu Kang? After all, you are the Mortal Kombat Champion. I am sure you can handle these creatures with your Shaolin talent.” Shang Tsung chuckled, one hand behind his back and another stroking his shorter, black goatee.

     “None of these wretched beasts will stop me from killing you, Shang Tsung!” Liu Kang steadied himself in a fighting stance, staring daggers into the sorcerer.

     “Excellent! Glad to hear that you agree.” Shang Tsung turned to face the group of twenty or so Tarkatans that were obediently sitting on the other end of the throne room, serving as the audience. “The Outworld Tournament shall begin with our first battle! The reigning Earthrealm champion, Liu Kang, versus the leader of the Tarkata, Baraka!”

     The Tarakatan warriors cheered like animals, growling, howling and shouting in joy as one of their own stepped from the crowd. Like the others, his eyes were a menacing orange, had fair skin and had a mouth that was filled to the brim with elongated, razor-sharp teeth. Other than the multitude of blades that jutted from his forearms, including a large retractable blade on either forearm, he looked like just another muscular human. 

     “Your reign as champion ends today, Shaolin!” Baraka stepped up to the center of the throne room, a good seven feet from Liu Kang as he was fueled by the cheers of his men. The largest metal blades extended from Baraka’s arms as he clashed them together for intimidation, unleashing a snarling roar.

     “Fight!” Shang Tsung kicked off the match, having Liu Kang immediately push off the ground and assault Baraka with his bicycle kicks. The Tarkatan held up his bladed arms in an ‘x’ shape, He watched Liu Kang bounce off his muscular physique and back onto his feet with glee. Baraka took the opening and abused it, slicing diagonally across the Shaolin’s chest. Another roar of support erupted from the Tarkatan crowd while Baraka licked the blood from his blade. Baraka dashed at Liu Kang, his run abruptly stopped by Liu Kang’s flaming backhand. With both fighters at a good distance, they took this time to assess their first blows before clashing again.

     Liu Kang’s Shaolin Fist was able to parry Baraka’s blades while Baraka’s primal rage tore through Liu Kang’s barrage, his endurance something to admire. Both bludgeoned from the hatred they allowed to boil their blood, it came down to a final attack that would decide who would win the first battle. Baraka was covered in burns from Liu Kang’s assault and charged the Shaolin with relentless fury. As a flurry of blade strikes rained down upon Liu Kang, the Shaolin warrior’s fists came ablaze with chi flame.  Dodging his blade strikes, Liu Kang waited for an opening and parried one of Baraka’s swipes in exchange for a slice along his arm. A vicious, flaming palm strike impacted Baraka’s chest and sent him crashing into the opposite wall.

     “Wooooataaaah!” Liu Kang’s war cry reverberated through the throne room as the Tarkatan crowd fell silent, Shang Tsung appearing concerned. When the smoke cleared, Baraka’s body was stuck in the concrete wall. As he struggled to release himself, he realized that his entire rib cage had been shattered, bone fragments swimming around with his organs. It was only after Baraka vomited blood on the floor did Shang Tsung offer a verdict for the fight.

     “Hmph. Your winner is….Liu Kang!” The Tarkatans roared and jeered angrily at the outcome but Shao Kahn’s gaze instilled enough fear for them to settle. “Now, finish him!”

     Liu Kang bowed toward Baraka before lifting himself and shaking his head at Shang Tsung. “I will not. I may be participating in your tournament but I shall not punish the dog for the master’s crimes.”

     Shang Tsung took on a smirk. “Ermac!”

     The hooded warrior from earlier emerged from a portal of souls on the other side of Shao Kahn’s throne. There, he dumped the unconscious bodies of Jaxx and Kung Lao on the ground like trash. Ermac floated just inches above the ground, looking to Liu Kang while Shang Tsung explained.

     “Yes, Liu Kang, you are participating in this Outworld Tournament. Because of that, you will follow our stipulations of Mortal Kombat. If Earthrealm wins this tournament, Shao Kahn will abandon his claim of your realm forever. However, you can only progress if you kill your opponent. There will be no mercy in these fights. Losing means death.” Shang Tsung glanced at Kung Lao and Jax’s battered bodies. “Of course, if you wish to maintain the peaceful ways of the Shaolin, we could ask Ermac to release his aura of souls from these two so that they can die in Baraka’s place. It is up to you, Liu Kang. Who dies by your hand?”

     Liu Kang’s lips curled inward, his fists clenching with eyes closed. The sounds of his Shaolin brothers screaming before death, his beloved temples charring from barbaric flames ---- they formed an echo chamber in his mind, forcing his teeth to clench with rage. His arms ignited with a mystic flame with his glazed eyes opening to look at Baraka’s body. Liu Kang roared, louder than any Tarkatan, as a massive blast of fire rushed from his hands. The impact was ruptured the wall, knocking Baraka further into it and charred his flesh in seconds. All that remained was a smoldering skeleton of the Tarkatan leader.

     Liu Kang lowered his arms after the blast, unnerved from how much energy he released. But Shang Tsung was pleased, snapping his fingers for Ermac to leave while he spoke once more. “Fatality! Next, you shall face ---”

     Shao Kahn raised his hand to Shang Tsung, making a few gestures with his hand to decide what would be next. Shang Tsung bowed in respect to him and continued. “---we shall continue the tournament tomorrow. Liu Kang, as the victor, you and your friends shall reside in Shao Kahn’s Tower until the next fight is announced. That is all!”

     The Tarkatans shuffled out first, some of them snarling at Baraka’s burning skeleton and some silently mourning with drooped heads. Ermac hovered over to Liu Kang with his unconscious friends, escorting them out of the throne room. 

     Shao Kahn’s growling baritone filled the room as he turned and spoke to Shang Tsung from the shadows. “Jade and Reptile have not reported back.”

     Shang Tsung arched his brows, frowning. “They should have brought the princess back by now. I apologize for the delay, emperor. She may be resisting more than we thought.”

     Shao Kahn shook his head. “Kitana is no killer. She flees and scurries in search of Edenia. If any difficulties arise from this, it is because someone is assisting her. I want her before me by sunrise, Shang Tsung. Be quick. You have mere hours.”

     Shang Tsung bowed to Shao Kahn, stepping away from his throne. “As you wish, emperor.”

     The light was distorted in the back of the throne room, another pair of glowing eyes taking in what transpired.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Kitana was still in the altar room with Sinister, both seated on either end of the room. A giant demonic statue glowed in the light of the moon that trickled through cracks in the room. Though the space of the room was barely larger than a bedroom, it gave the two enough space to think about the words they were exchanging. 

     “So then, what do you want if not to kill me?” Kitana’s chains rustled along the ground, her blue eyes glaring at Sinister.

     “I want your loyalty, princess.” Sinister rolled a rock around in his hands.

     “To serve what purpose? To take down Shao Kahn? Or for your own deluded ends?”

     Sinister’s symbiotic flesh latched onto the rock, quickly devouring it with hundreds of miniature mouths. “To assimilate the realms. There will be only one and I will be its caretaker.”

     Kitana appeared confused. “Merge the realms? So you are a fiend of the Netherrealm, a being after Shao Kahn’s heart. Tch!”

     A duplicate Sinister appeared beside Kitana, sitting in the exact same leaning posture the first body was. “A fiend I am not. But I am not of the light. I am a necessity, one that wants to make this as painless as possible.”

     Kitana pushed herself away from Sinister, momentarily shocked. Her chains that were tied around the statue had tugged her back, not allowing  much space from Sinister. “Ah! Is that a threat? Do not take me for some foolish damsel. I am princess of Outworld and Edenia, a warrior that is not to be trifled with.”

     Shadows slithered from Sinister to envelop Kitana’s chains, eating away the metal to free her from bondage. “Alright, then. Show me.”

     Kitana pushed herself even further from Sinister, standing to her feet. “What makes you believe I must prove myself to you, demon? I owe you nothing.”

     “Yet, I freed you from these shackles.”

     “I would have escaped them eventually. Don’t presume to give me debt I didn’t ask for and request something you don’t deserve.” Kitana stood firm.

     Sinister’s arm formed into a giant blade, his mouth forming a smile. 

     Kitana scoffed, rolling her eyes. “And so you turn to intimidation? Force? I have killed my share of Tarkata, demon. No blade nor fire nor hellion’s glare will shake my spirit in such a way to bow before you.” She slowly turned on the heel of her boot, starting to walk to the exit. 

     Sinister sighed, rushing Kitana from behind as his first body tried to ambush her from the front with an identical bladed arm. 

     Kitana reached to pull two steel fans from the linings of her thigh-high boots, opening them in the face of the Sinister bodies. As the fans opened, inside they had beautiful, embroidered blue silk. From the silk, however, extended razor sharp steel that made the Japanese-style fans both beautiful and deadly. She quickly decapitated them both. She shifted her body to slice their upper bodies with a quick precision, blue energy momentarily flowing through her. She kicked one of the eviscerated bodies to the side, closing one fan and leaving one open to fan herself.

     What remained of the second body stumbled backward while Kitana left the room. Sinister regenerated just moments later, absorbing the second body and following after her. But there was no trace of her. All he could see was a large hole burned through the area Reptile was once sitting, acid dripping along the edges. He started to pace toward the burned hole, believing Kitana might have been taken but was stopped by an invisible force. Flung back through the hallway and skidding across stone, Sinister looked around trying to figure out who was responsible.

     The sound of rockets alerted Sinister, having him use his supernatural speed to dash out of the way. The group of rockets demolished most of the hallway, plunging the tower remnants into moon-speckled darkness. Hundreds of glowing eyes soon surrounded Sinister, those cold stares coming from invisible bodies. The cloaking wore off and showed that there were a staggering amount of cybernetic warriors responsible for the ambush. Their armor plating was red and black with bodies of average height. One robotic voice spoke through them.

     “Your genetic structure is unknown in origin but reminiscent of the Chaosrealm. Primary data has been extracted and analyzed. Beginning test for Secondary data extraction. Safeties disabled. Combat mode engaged.”

     “What kind of magic ---no. Technology?! Here?!” Sinister’s body traveled quickly through the shadows before rocketing toward the ceiling to get a better view. 

     “Target acquired.” A cyborg had already met him in the air, one of its arms transforming into a plasma cannon. Before Sinister could understand what was being pointed at him, his face was blasted off. The force sent the rest of his body careening into the crowd of robots. A group of them opened the armor plating along their torso, revealing larger plasma cannons that blasted at Sinister’s falling body. The weapons hummed in unison as they evaporated a large majority of his body with only an ear plopping on the ground.. 

     Those closest to the ear started to analyze it with scanning lights beaming down from their eyes to the body part, beeping and humming excitedly. It wasn’t until the ear reformed the forehead and the forehead reformed the skull that they backed away from the regenerating being. “Subatomic regeneration beginning at rate of ten billion atoms per millisecond. Adjusting systems. Plasma cannons prepared for microsecond assault.”

     Just as the light of their cannons appeared in their chests, Black spires of symbiotic flesh rushed out from the black blob of Sinister’s regeneration. He impaled the group of robots standing around him, having the spikes violently spin to shred through a quarter of the cyborgs. They hummed and beeped once more, taking note of the assault while Sinister finished his regeneration. He turned to look to one of them as the one voice explained what happened. “Being has observational data absorption and atomic restructuring for improved fighting capabilities. Excellent information. Adjusting motor sensors and reflex systems to picosecond movement.”

     “Enough of this foolishness!” Sinister’s eyes glowed intensely, the air around him becoming increasingly blurry.

     The cyborgs fired their plasma cannons in unison, unloading an immense amount of energy onto Sinister. The numbing sound of humming lasers died down after five seconds, leaving a shell of symbiotic flesh surrounding Sinister. As the shell unraveled like a flower and reabsorbed into his body, the amount of heat started to skyrocket around him. “Don’t tread on me…”

     “Subject shows signs of passive defensive capabilities. Possibly instinctual. Ability to manipulate subatomic matter into both offensive and defensive maneu--” An inferno quickly engulfed the small army of Tekunin cyborgs, the tower and the surrounding area. The intense flames lapped at the purple skies and shined an unnatural light upon the land for miles. “Critical error. Temp--zzzcchht---rea----zzzchcchht----thirty thou---zzcchht---kelv---”

     The tower burned to ash in seconds. A large wave of what remained was carried out by the wind, blowing a thick smog through the surrounding forests to leave a half-mile crater in its place. Sinister walked along the sandy remnants and to the center of the crater, kneeling down to press his hand against the earth. His arm sank through layers of debris until he could touch the cool mud, a wave of purple energy pulsing through the crater. Snorting, Sinister stood up and looked to the silence around him. As he walked away, a small obsidian peak grew from the center of the crater, flashing with Nether. 

     He tread through the Living Forest to find Mileena settled on one of the dead branches, twirling a sai in her hand. “So, where is my dear sister?”

     “I am unsure. She escaped initially but I believe she may have been captured by some group. Robotic monstrosities. Do you know of them?”

     Mileena growled, clutching her sai. “The Tekunin. All I know is that they used to be part of the Lin Kuei.”

     Sinister stretched his arm out to the side, opening a purple rift of swirling energy. “Then we shall pay this Lin Kuei a visit. Perhaps we will get more information as to what these ‘Tekunin’ are.”

     Mileena hopped off of the branch to stand beside Sinister, both of them walking through the portal in earnest.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     On the Shokan island of Kuatan, a tiger-striped Shokan with feline features stood upon a gargantuan hilltop while an army of fellow warriors filled a gaping ravine below him. The odd Shokan, Kintaro, raised all four arms and clenched his fists with a roar that shook everyone in attendance. “Shokan brothers! The time has come to proclaim the realms to be ours! Shao Kahn has replaced us with our sworn enemy, the Centaurians. Long have we had rivalry with their kind but that rivalry shall end this day!”

     Sheeva emerged from behind Kintaro, carrying a rock that was inscribed with unknown symbols. As she handed it to Kintaro, he raised it to show the others with light shining from the symbols. “This is the key to our victory. We are much smarter than the Centurians and we will show them why we are the greatest race in Outworld. With this item, we will be able to teleport our massive horde inside Shao Kahn’s fortress undetected. Then, we will slaughter the Centurians and dethrone Shao Kahn so that I can be the new ruler! Prince Goro has dishonored us with his actions as of late, becoming soft. He has shamed his race from his multiple losses and sullen demeanor. His reign has ended but your new prince will show you the way to prosperity through force and strength!”

     The crowd of Shokans raised their hands with joy, cheering Kintaro on during his rally. But a bloodcurdling scream interrupted the cheers, a centaur having crushed someone’s skull beneath its hoof. As the crowd turned around, they saw muscular Centurians suddenly appear around the ravine as if out of thin air. One Centurian stood out above the others, having a long cybernetic tail with a sharpened edge, its horns the largest of the bunch. 

     Grinning, the leader Motaro addressed Kintaro. “The Black Dragon’s technology paid off after all. You idiots couldn’t smell anything, not even the pussycat.” Unlike his brethren, he didn’t carry a sword, shield, spear or wear armor. The hulking layers of pure muscle that lined his upper human half and lower horse half were thick enough to dissuade even the most brutal physical assaults. 

     “Motaro! Have you come to die?!” Kintaro was already equipping his tiger claw gauntlets but the Shokan that were in the ravine were surrounded and completely unprepared for a fight of this scale.

     Motaro laughed, one hoof idly scraping the ground. “We were sent by Shao Kahn to wipe out the Shokan for good. Once your prince was shown to be a failure against Earthrealm, we became his extermination squad. The simple fact of the matter is that your kind are no longer needed, by the emperor or anyone else. MEN! DESTROY THEM!”

     What followed was nothing short of an act of genocide. The Shokans had been outsmarted by those they believed to be their lesser, completely surrounded in a deep ravine with no way out but through the Centurians. There were those that tried to climb out of the ravine only to have their skulls smashed in by the Centurians’ powerful hooves or bodies eviscerated by their weaponry. Some realized this folly, choosing instead to fall back on their dragon ancestry and incinerate them with fire. But this too was proven a fatal error.

     While The Black Dragon afforded them cloaking devices that even the Shokan couldn’t detect, they had the natural ability to reflect any mystic or elemental energy that hoped to harm them. In effect, the Shokan burned themselves alive, The flames rolled off of the muscular frames of the Centaurians and created a roaring fire pit where the Shokan race’s unyielding screams only furthered Kintaro’s fury. But the rage he felt was made still by his indecision, unsure of how he would face them alone. It was in that moment of uncertainty that Motaro vanished in a wavy mist, appearing behind Kintaro. As Kintaro turned around to react, he immediately stabbed Motaro’s skull with all four tiger claw gauntlets.

     Motaro laughed again as the gauntlets broke against his horns instead, having the Centurian shake off the attempt and grab the Shokan by the throat. His long metallic tail wrapped around Sheeva’s neck, lifting her off the ground with ease while Motaro spoke. “I honestly don’t see what Shao Kahn saw in you Shokan. Just because you have some dragon blood, you consider yourselves royalty, something superior. You are never entitled to be the best. That is something that you earn, something we have proven today. Now, burn with your brothers.”

     The Centurian’s fingers sank into Kintaro’s neck like butter, ripping the front of his throat out  and kicking his body into the burning ravine with his front legs. The addition of Kintaro’s body stoked the flame, sending a rush of fire to illuminate the fear on Sheeva’s face as more Centurians surrounded her. Their veins rushed to the surface while many of them smelled her fear, despite her body trying to mask it as best it could. 

     “It would be a shame to afford your race such a quick and deserving death without inflicting some type of long-term damage. Something to reflect the many, many years of oppression we have suffered by your people’s hands.” The Centurians snorted and aggressively scraped their hooves against the ground, their men numbering in the hundreds. As Sheeva looked around from her position, she caught glimpses of something worse than death. Hardy rods of pulsing flesh, oozing pungent fluid beneath equine bodies. Their size was enough to bring her eyes to a glaze, struggling to free herself from Motaro’s tail. Unfortunately, the quick barrage of clenched fists and sharp knuckles against her torso calmed her efforts.

     Motaro dropped her into the circle of surrounding Centaurians as they immediately began to rip the tight clothing from her body. He trotted away from them and toward the kingdom with a final command. “Make sure everyone gets a turn. Every single Centaurian. I will deal with the dear prince myself.”

     As they began on Sheeva, loud snorts, grunts and roars of ecstasy sounded around the roaring fire of dying Shokan. Sheeva’s screams were ear-piercing, the blood vessels in her eyes bursting from the herculean effort. But it was all overpowered by the sounds of sloshing, smacking, stomping and gagging that soon followed. The mighty Shokan had fallen this day.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Shao Kahn sat in wait for Shang Tsung’s return, his red eyes glowing in the darkness. From the entryway of his throne room came a small metallic sphere, rolling along the slick floors until it stopped just a few feet in front of his throne chair. The metal orb was lined with cybernetic symbols, spinning in place before producing a holographic screen. 

     “What is this?!” Shao Kahn extended a hand to his side as his infamous war hammer appeared from a green shroud. As he raised it over his head, the face of a cyborg appeared on the holographic screen. 

     “Doing that would cause you great pain, emperor.”

     Shao Kahn lowered his hammer with a snort. “Hmph! The Tekunin. To what do I owe this intrusion? I am in no mood for games.”

     “We do not play games, emperor. We strategize, we analyze and we mobilize. Similar to what we have done concerning Princess Kitana and the captive that you once had in your possession.” The crimson cyborg that was speaking went by the name of Sektor, slightly larger than the others in his robotic clan. Dreadlocks made of black wiring trailed from his skull as he stepped aside to reveal Kitana and Sonya Blade in containment chambers, unconscious in suspension fluid. They appeared to be in a laboratory of sorts on the other end of the holographic screen.

     “And? What should I care of either of them?” Shao Kahn went back to leaning in his throne chair, letting the head of his hammer hit the ground at rest.

     ‘We have analyzed their biological structures and are fully prepared to enter them into the Cyber Initiative in order to overwhelm your forces. They will also come as excellent guinea pigs in mobilizing against the shadow force attempting to merge the realms through kidnapping and force.”

     Shao Kahn squinted, appearing annoyed. “You would dare come against me, cyborg?! And how do you know of the vanishing among the realms?!”

     “We know the force’s name, atomic structure, capabilities, motive, associates and have several units in Earthrealm studying Greek Mythology in order to pinpoint several different avenues of annihilating their efforts.”

     “If you boast so greatly, then why have you come to me? Surely, there is something that I have that you do not if you massage your ego in my presence without any inkling of threat?”

     The holographic screen changed from a visual of Sektor and his laboratory to a being from Greek mythology, muscular and surrounded by a shroud of mysterious energy. “We are missing a key component to eliminating this strange force. As you are acquainted with the dark arts, I must ask --- what do you know of Aether?”


	6. I Dream of Death

     A grizzled, muscular man sat in a wooden chair, leaning back by one leg. His black boots scraped on the floor with black cargo pants tucked into the top. Rolling a toothpick around in his mouth, he scratched his hairy chest and adjusted the cybernetic heart over the left side of his upper body. The right side of his face gleamed with a cybernetic plate, a glowing red eye moving around inside. Sitting inside an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Earthrealm’s Australia, he juggled a large butterfly knife in his hand. Waiting. Watching. But he wasn’t happy about it. Kano never did like to wait.

     “Where tha’ fuck is he?” Kano grumbled, soon throwing the knife into a nearby mannequin head. 

     A blonde male in a gray hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants and MMA gloves addressed Kano from a table adjacent to him. “Kabal will be here soon. We just need to wait so he can confirm it is all. Be patient.” 

     “Shut it, Kobra. Tha’ las’ bloke ‘at tol’ me ta’ be patient ended up gettin’ bled out,  _ waitin’ _ ta’ die.” Kano turned to the blonde man, Kobra, sneering before pulling out another butterfly knife to juggle.

     Kobra scoffed, laying down on an old wooden table and kicking his white sneakers up. He pulled his hood over most of his face. “Yeah, yeah. Tough Aussie. We get it.”

     “Am I interrupting something?” Shang Tsung emerged from the shadows of the dawn-lit warehouse, hands pressed behind his back.

     Kano sat up, turning around to face the sorcerer. He gripped the knife with the blade facing down, bringing it up to lightly scrape across his stubble. “Jus’ cleanin’ up the ol’ mug.”

     Kobra also sat up but left his hood on his head, feeling uneasy about Shang Tsung. “Did ya come ta’ peddle us back to that shithole?”

     “Easy, mate. As long as he’s got tha’ right amount a money, we’ll go where we need ta’.” Kano flicked the blade of his knife off his stubble, looking to Shang Tsung with a grin. “Ain’t that right?”

     “The emperor has always paid The Black Dragon handsomely.” Shang Tsung turned to see Kabal approach them from the shuttered doors across the room. 

     “You’re gonna need more than money this time, Tsung.” Kabal’s voice was slightly raspy, clouded from the high-tech respirator mask he was breathing from. Besides the oxygen pack attached to his back and the tubes running through into his mask, he had a pair of long hook swords attached to the hip of his belt. The flesh that was visible beneath the black pants, boots and vest lined with light armor, the fragments of slightly yellowed skin --- it was horribly burned. Scars reminiscent of third-degree burns were present mostly along his arms, flaps of singed and torn flesh fused together from the Outworld magic that both revived him and gave him superhuman speed.

     “Shit, it’s ‘bout time. You got tha’ information?” Kano sat up in his chair.

     Kabal pulled a smartphone from his pocket, the metallic casing covered in scratches and dried blood. He lifted the screen for everyone to see a spinning symbol on the screen, something loading up. “Yeah and I think our good friend the sorcerer will wanna see this. Got it off one of our dead men near Charred Mountain.”

     As the video began to play, all four of them came in close to witness this information that caused the normally impatient Kano to take heed and wait for Kabal’s return. The screen lit up with a first-person view of someone walking through a mountain cavern, roaring sounds coming from the dark tunnel just ahead. The recorder traveled further only to come upon a hidden laboratory, the light within being a stark white, bleeding along the nearby boulders. Large metal apparatuses lined the cavern walls, along with standard surgical equipment and a mixture of colorful vials. One such vial was being injected into a large Shokan that had been chained to the cavern floor with an erect operating bed behind it. Just a few feet from the beast stood Daegon.

     “Any effect?” Daegon’s hands rested on his hips, walking around the Shokan.

     “Almost, sir. We were successful in isolating certain genetic sequences in the Shokan while applying the isolated genes of Caro but something is wrong. He’s resisting the change too strongly, whether active or subconsciously.” One of the Red Dragon scientists, dressed in a red and black lab coat, took notes on a clipboard while intermittently injecting the Shokan.

     Daegon looked to the Shokan. “Goro, I hope you aren’t having second thoughts about this. Don’t forget that this is a huge step forward for both you and The Red Dragon. As the only successor of your kind, you have a duty to protect the bloodline of the mighty Shokan, do you not?”

     Goro roared, his skin twisting and starting to char from the injection. “My people will destroy the centaurians, then Shao Kahn. Only then will we be recognized as the true power of Outworld!”

     Daegon chuckled, walking over to the back wall to retrieve a burned Shokan arm. He tossed it in front of Goro and pointed from his face to the limb. “You could have become just like them, Goro. There are no more of ‘your people’. There is only you and you are to blame. Why do you think you even agreed to these enhancements? Your loss to Liu Kang and failure to Shao Kahn disgraced your entire race. So now, the Centaurians took your place. Besides you, The Shokan are only creatures of legend. A myth to fuel your rage.”

     Goro reached out to grab Daegon by the throat. “Against  _ you _ ! You could have stopped this, demi-god! You could have aided me!”

     Daegon broke Goro’s arm with a single strike, forcing the Shokan to release him as he held his throat. “Agnh! You should be grateful! I could have left you to die like the rest of those brutish creatures. But I am a man of my word. We’ll continue experimentation until you are what is required of The Red Dragon.”

     Goro protested, slamming his fists into the earth. Fire shot out of the open wound of his missing arm, regenerating it with red scales instead of normal flesh. The fingers were changed into black talons and his eyes shifted to an eerie yellow, bleeding with energy. 

     Daegon backed away from Goro, smiling from the progress made from the experiments. “Good. The rage will accelerate your development. Keep him stable. I have to see if our usual search has turned up any results.” He walked from the laboratory as the cameraman hid behind a stalagmite. Daegon’s hand smashed through the stalagmite, ripping through the cameraman. Goro’s roars of defiance were heard before the smartphone video ended abruptly. 

     Kabal lowered the phone and looked to Shang Tsung, who appeared to be shocked. “That Shokan you hired to represent your tournament a while back is now in the hands of The Red Dragon.”

     “An’ it looks like you an’ ya army a’ pony boys didn’t take too kindly ta’ their prince losin’. You tryin’ ta’ start a war here, Tsung?” Kano’s cybernetic eye flashed red, scowling at Shang Tsung. “ ‘Cause yanno, war’s only good when you kin’ make a profit. Tha’ fuck are we gonna do wit’ demi-gods an’ shit runnin’ ‘round wit’ an army ah dragons?”

     “I assure you that this was not my intention. We did recruit the Centaurians but ---” Shang Tsung’s robe was yanked over by Kobra, the youth infuriated by the footage.

     “You didn’t come to recruit us. You came to us to take the fall for  _ your _ shit! Centaurians aren’t kombatants or bodyguards --- they’re a roaming  _ deathsquad _ !”

     Kabal placed a hand on Kobra’s shoulder. “Easy.”

     Kobra shook Kabal’s hand off, slamming Shang Tsung on the wooden table he once reclined on. “I don’t give a  _ fuck _ about the Shokan or Centaurians or whatever stupid tournament you put together! Your actions endangered The Black Dragon. And  _ no one _ crosses us. Not even you.” Kobra raised a fist, throwing it at Shang Tsung’s face.

     “Easy, Kobra!” Within inches of shang Tsung’s face, Kobra’s hand was caught by Kabal, those gloved fingers gripping tight around the youth’s forearm. “You’re overreacting. I keep telling you to cut that shit out. You ain’t Kano, who  _ also _ needs to cut that shit out. Back off him.”

     Kobra winced, glaring at Shang Tsung before releasing him. He walked a few feet away to lean against a wall with one foot propped behind him. He lowered his hoodie to cover his face with his arms crossed over his chest. “Fuckin’ wizards.”

     Shang Tsung tried to sit up from the table only to be threatened to lay back down with the edge of Kabal’s hook sword pressing against his neck. “Ah. You ain’t goin’ nowhere. Where Kano is a lover of money and Kobra is a loyal little bastard,  _ I _ like to think about the big picture. That video? Just a piece of it. So, I tell you what we’re gonna do, Tsung. We’re gonna help each other out and, like I said before, it’s gonna cost you more than just money this time.”

     Shang Tsung pushed Kabal’s hook sword away from him, trying to sit up. Within a fraction of a section, the hook sword was back against his neck, Kabal’s movements barely a blur. A trail of blood ran down Shang Tsung’s neck as his eyes widened from the lethal speed. “Tch!”

     “You’re a powerful sorcerer, no doubt. It’s why Kahn keeps you as his personal lap dog. But no spell in the  _ world _ is gonna stop me from slicing your body into dog food before you can get out your first ‘abra cadabra’. So stop fidgeting and listen. We’ve dealt with the Red Dragon before but nothing like this. I’m pretty sure you don’t want the prince of Shokans knocking at your door with a pissed-off demi-god, either. So if you want your little tournament to keep going uninterrupted and if we don’t want to end up dead, we’re gonna have to help each other out. That means destroying The Red Dragon so they can finally get off our ass and stop staring at yours for a fresh bite.” Kabal lightly scraped his hook sword’s edge along Shang Tsung’s reddened neck, smearing blood on his cheek with the flat side of the blade.

     “You believe that Shao Kahn is not able to stand against this force just as he has done with so many others? You are a fool if you believe the emperor can not---”

     Kabal interrupted. “And you’re a real dumbass if you think that’s the only reason we need to save each other’s hides. You of all people should know what’s been happening while you’ve been fiending over that little Kumite of yours.”

     Kano had settled back into his seat, leaning somewhat with his knife back in hand. “An’ if you ain’t ‘eard, then you probably ain’t the kinda person we need goin’ in on this job. There’s been plenty uh people vanishin’ ‘round the world. Not jus’ tha usual homeless an’ hookers, eitha’. High-profile businessmen, entire families, even small countries are all disappearin’ ova’night.”

     Kabal drew his hook sword from Shang Tsung’s throat, swiping blood from his blade to splatter across the concrete. “Here in Australia, major cities have been turning into ghost towns. Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne --- news outlets can’t even act like they know what’s goin’ on. After a few weeks, they just stopped reporting on it. I can only imagine what’s been happening in the other realms.”

     Shang Tsung dusted himself off, exhaling sharply. “People live and die at a much more...liberal rate in Outworld than here in Earthrealm. Shao Kahn’s konquest has only accelerated the norm and made an issue like disappearances a distant thought. But if you are correct in your assumptions, in that someone or something is reaping souls so quickly, then we will need something to kombat them properly.”

     Kabal sheathed his hook sword. “So, what did you have in mind? It’s pretty clear this is starting to get bigger than Outworld politics.”

     “We will require a Soulnado, a torrent of souls that will be able to fuel us enough to stand against anything that seeks to destroy us. Shao Kahn entrusted me to create one for him and his forces but the one that I was able to make could only assist in creating Ermac. I will need another versed in dark magic to create a Soulnado large enough to perpetually fuel an army, an endless supply of souls.”

     Kobra scoffed. “Not as good of a wizard as you thought, huh?”

     Kabal looked at Kobra in disapproval, causing the youth to raise his hands and stop. Turning back to Shang Tsung, he cracked his knuckles. “So then, who do we need to make this happen?”

     Shang Tsung waved his right hand, opening a swirling green portal by the shuttered doors. “We will need to travel to the Chaosrealm. With Quan Chi’s death, the only other person I can turn to is a cleric of chaos. I need Havik.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

     “This is unacceptable!” Frost was livid, arguing with Sub-Zero in the courtyard of the Lin Kuei Temple about the upcoming mission.

     “Frost, you know that your impulsive nature and issues with controlling your anger are jeopardizing factors to this mission. Just a few hours ago, you were ready to strike down Scorpion without the slightest idea of what he could do to you.” Sub-Zero lifted her chin with his hand, fingers pushing it up. “You still haven’t fully recovered from those burns on your throat. I’m sorry but you will need to stay here until you can learn to control yourself.”

     Frost knocked his hand away, grunting. “I risk my  _ life _ to defend the Lin Kuei and  _ I _ am the one being punished?! You misuse your authority, Sub-Zero. Time and time again, I have displayed my power, my skill and my loyalty to the Lin Kuei only to be treated as a  _ child _ !”

     Sub-Zero clenched his fists, stepping across the ice and to the end of the small bridge where she stood. “That is  _ Grandmaster _ to you. You may be strong but you lack the basic foundational morals and ideologies that we stand for, Frost. If you keep down this road, we won’t be able to house such behavior anymore, let alone allow you to accompany us on missions.”

     Frost’s face changed to a mixture of shock and anger, stepping to Sub-Zero with boldness.  _ “Is that a threat?” _

     Sub-Zero stood firm, looking down at her with ice forming around his hands. “If it must be. But for now, you will remain here while we proceed to the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Is that understood?”

     Frost took a few steps back, closing her eyes for a moment to regain her composure. Her voice became softer and more submissive. “Yes, Grandmaster. Please take your leave. I will be here when you return with our brothers.” She bowed to him, moving to the side of the bridge so that he could walk back to the temple for departure.

     Sub-Zero stepped past her, shaking his head after assuming her sarcastic tone. Once Sub-Zero was out of sight, Frost fired a violent ice blast at the frozen lake just beyond the bridge. The ice cracked initially but split further when it started to melt, the courtyard sinking into an ominous darkness. The absence of light was then concentrated on a dark figure pulling itself out of the ice fissure, steam rising from it. The black mass soon shifted into Sinister, walking along the ice that melted seconds afterward. It was then that his supernatural quirk of walking on water caused the young Frost to go into a defensive stance. From a pink flash of mist, Mileena descended to land by Sinister, her sais in hand. 

     “More intruders….” Frost gathered an ice sphere in her palms, staying wary of Sinister and Mileena.

     Sinister reached the other end of the bridge, stopping just a few feet from Frost with a smile on his face. “We’re visitors but I assume you are with the Lin Kuei?”

     “I am Lin Kuei Warrior Frost and  _ you _ are trespassing. My Grandmaster Sub-Zero is just inside, along with the rest of my brothers. Once I call them---”

     “Then they will all die, which would be too unfortunate to consider.” Sinister reappeared just inches in front of her, pressing a finger against her frigid chest. “And we don’t need that, do we? Not after that stern lecture he just gave you.”

     Frost moved back, surprised by his speed. So much so that her ice sphere dematerialized, her focus momentarily gone. “He...he is my Grandmaster, not my owner.”

     “Doesn’t seem like much of a difference to me. Sounds like you’re his little pet.” Mileena chuckled, the chains of her veil clinking in the light breeze.

     Frost grew increasingly impatient, drawing her ice dagger instead. Though her head was clouded by conflicting thoughts, she was still in a mode for kombat. “Stop this nonsense! You know nothing of The Lin Kuei!”

     “Oh but we do. I was accosted by a gang of robots that are believed to be part of your little organization. So, we just came by to get some information as to whether or not this is true and, if it is, put a stop to it.”

     Frost wavered somewhat. “Robots? You--you mean the Tekunin? They belong to Sektor. They may have been Lin Kuei at one time but Grandmaster told me that he defeated them and they fled elsewhere.”

     “And where would ‘elsewhere’ be?” Sinister slowly approached Frost again.

     Frost reacted by matching each of his steps with one step back, ice daggers at the ready. “I don’t know. They wander from realm to realm, recruiting more to be like them. They could be anywhere. Except here.”

     Sinister sank into the bridge and re-emerged from Frost’s shadow, wrapping one hand around her mouth and an arm around her stomach. “Then have we come here for naught? What do you think, Mileena?”

     Mileena tilted her head, smiling beneath her veil. “I think this one should receive the blessing, Lord Maharana. She seems tasty.”

     Sinister craned his neck around to look at Frost. “I am unsure. We need to be certain she is strong as well. Achlys  _ adores _ strength.”

     Frost’s body starts to freeze over in Sinister’s grip before shattering, leaving a broken, frozen mess. Her voice could be heard thereafter in the courtyard. “If you doubt my strength, you two must be beyond foolish.”

     From the temple came a group of five Lin Kuei warriors, confused at the sight. One of them spoke up. “Ah! What have you done to Frost?! The Grandmaster was right to have us stay to keep an eye on her. We shall avenge her!”

     Sinister turned to look at the charging group of warriors, the bridge beginning to char from his heat. “Oh, how easily I could turn this place into a sauna.”

     Mileena gently pushed Sinister aside, striking her sai together and preparing to engage. “My lord, please. Let me have them.”

     Sinister receded back into the courtyard to look for Frost. “Very well. When you are done, search the temple. Find out if there are others.”

     “Yes, my lord.” Mileena disappeared in a pink flash, appearing above the group of men with a flying kick. Once her steel stilettos pierced the skull of one warrior, her disappearing act repeated itself, launching another flying kick to stab the next warrior through the heart with her heel. Upon landing, she pierced the throats of two more warriors with her sais, following through to decapitate them. The last Lin Kuei presented their broadsword with a determined look in his eyes.

     “Foul demon. We are the Lin Kuei. More stealthy than the night. More deadly than the dawn!” He charged her, the two beginning a fierce sword fight that caught Mileena off-guard. Even in the face of monstrous creatures and magical forces, The Lin Kuei was always determined to fight until the bitter end. Though not all were Cryomancers, they all fought as one with the skills they learned in kombat. While Mileena sustained some injuries from the Lin Kuei warrior’s adept swordsmanship, he was no match for her Nether-infused assault.

     The final blow came from her digging claws into his eyes during his next rush, slamming his head into the ground with enough force to shatter his skull. Lifting her hand from the gory mess, her tongue writhed from underneath her veil to lick at the excess blood and brain she scooped from his remains. Purposefully stepping in his neck, she made her way into the temple as the wounds on her skin progressively healed.

     The ice in the courtyard had all but melted from Sinister’s presence, leaving him to walk atop a body of simmering water in search of Frost. While Frost’s voice resonated through the area, Sinister stood atop the steaming waters with his eyes closed, focusing in on her location.

     “Your little bitch seems capable but you two won’t be leaving here alive. I’ll kill you both and prove to the Grandmaster that I am  _ more _ than worthy of the Lin Kuei.”

     “You would be surprised at what the Nether can do, especially when wielded by skilled individuals. You, however, would require some fine-tuning.” Sinister heard ice cracking around the courtyard, one arm forming into a blade while the other rubbed fingers together in anticipation.

     “I do not need any more lectures. I know my strength and I will be respected as the warrior I am!” A heavy mist flowed into the courtyard, followed by dancing shadows armed with daggers.

     Sinister laughed, starting to snap his fingers while mist formed on his arm blade. “If strength is what you wish to be defined by, then joining me truly is your only option besides assimilation.”

     A frenzy of strikes came down upon Sinister: One seeking to stab him with an ice dagger, another trying to freeze him with an ice sphere and yet another trying a flying kick, leaping off the frozen waterfall. The Frost clones all spoke in unison. “I will never join you!”

     Sinister’s supernatural heat exploded from his body in a powerful wave of energy, instantly melting two of the Frost clones while the remaining, true Frost was knocked into the frozen waterfall. The giant wall of ice cracked from her impact, her body sinking into the simmering pool. Sinister’s bladed arm extended in a tentacle-like appendage to fish her from the water, holding her up by her neck as the space between them grew shorter. “So then, you would choose death?”

     Frost’s body dripped with warm water, her breathing becoming shallow from the amount of heat in the area. “I...I..am….I am strong…..”

     Sinister’s tentacle arm tightened around her neck, causing Frost to grab at it with weakened groans. She stopped struggling after hearing her back crack from her movements, inadvertently exacerbating her recent injury. “You have  _ potential _ . That is not the same as  _ reaching _ that potential and stepping into the shadow you now cast, woman. It would be a shame to just assimilate you now. Trained properly, under a firm hand, you would become a great warrior for Achlys. Being the natural teacher that I am, I feel obliged to give you another chance, a way for you to erase the foolishness you have shown today.”

     Frost’s freezing abilities tried to kick up but every attempt was stopped short by Sinister’s overwhelming warmth, sweat dripping from her body from the sharp temperature increase. She tried to speak but the moisture on her lips and tongue were drying from the heat. 

     Mileena walked back into the courtyard and over to Sinister, letting her sais vanish in a pink haze. “No one else inside. The rest of the Lin Kuei must have gone to see Shao Kahn in Outworld.”

     “Then we will give this one the blessing and bring her with us.” Two more tentacle appendages burst from his back and slithered along Frost’s arms, binding her wrists as the young Lin Kuei looked worriedly between Sinister and Mileena. “Strip her. She can’t resist in this environment and that is the point.”

     “With pleasure.” Treating Frost like hanging meat, Mileena’s clawed hands brushed along her skin until they hooked into her vested outfit. She tore most of Frost’s clothing from her body with one tug, tossing it into the waters to sink. The swift gesture made Frost’s chest shake, her pale skin and darkened nipples drenched in sweat. Mileena took the liberty of trailing her tongue along Frost’s mostly naked body, gathering the sweat with a sadistic pleasure. She finished by sliding Frost’s boots off, letting them see her toes curl and twinge from how uncomfortable she was.

     “You have an issue with believing that you are stronger than what you have been trained to be. You are reaching for goals that are far beyond you but not impossible in your lifetime. Your pride blocks your progress and, as such, it must be completely torn down. It will be rebuilt in the image Achlys desires for you, in the darkness where you were conceived. You will gravitate back to who you truly are and be infused with the primordial energies you have subconsciously desired your entire life.” Sinister used his free hand to pick off the last vestiges of clothing that clung to Frost’s skin, the ominous ebony manhood pulsing between his legs. Once Frost was able to see what her fate would soon be, her body jerked wildly with an open mouth that poured silence. She tried once again to use her cryomancy but to no effect, instead creating more sweat to soak her body. Sinister only grew more amorous with the primitive marinade illuminated by the stars above.

     Mileena snorted and snarled as Sinister prepared himself, her thighs twitching with a small release of sinful fluid trailing down her leg. Her eyes were rich in a purple haze and glowed with desire for the being of shadow. She leaned against the arm railing of the bridge, resting one hand between her thighs while watching her new master indoctrinate yet another.

     Frost’s face filled with anger while she kicked furiously at Sinister, striking blows that would have normally snapped his neck or even smashed his skull. Unfortunately, the mixture of heat exhaustion and Sinister’s overwhelming strength made her efforts little more than that of a rag doll. Every kick to the face was greeted with a smile, one that mocked her abilities as a Lin Kuei warrior. One that challenged her very beliefs of being strong. One that slowly eviscerated her spirit with the affirmation that she was weak and powerless in this situation. It was something she had never felt before and something she had hoped to never feel again.

     Frost’s kicks became less and less energetic, leaving Sinister to wrap his fingers around her ankles and spread her legs apart. He leaned in, drawing his tongue across the slick layer of fear that covered her pussy. His tongue receded to spread the flavor of her body around in his mouth, savoring the precursor of submission with playful hums. Sinister tasted her repeatedly, forcing Frost’s tears closer and closer to the edge with every spiteful lash of his tongue. Pulling Frost’s body closer to him, her tears streamed without limit the moment he breached her with his throbbing desires. Every inch of the girth that violated her caused her to spasm, her dry screams coming across as pathetic wheezing.

     The sounds of bitter winds blowing through the courtyard were only accompanied by the wet, slick smacks of Sinister hilting Frost again and again. With force unyielding, Sinister breached yet another of her carnal barriers, ripping into the sacred nest of flesh she barely acknowledged. Her tongue lolled from those frostbitten lips, hues receding to the back of her head in exchange for blanked eyes. Sweat from her face drizzled onto her tongue and gathered in the back of her throat, letting her produce small gurgles of pain. Fresh streams of blood painted her inner thighs and Sinister’s groin, his powerful thrusts slicking her insides with the ultimate sign of defeat. She felt her stomach bulge, not knowing if she was bloated with blood or if the brutal appendage that brought her closer to paralysis was just that large.

     Her tears had dried, stuck in a state of disbelief and apathy to how her body was being brutalized. Sinister took note of it and, instead of seeing it as submission, he saw it as another form of her resistance. A thick tentacle ripped its way out of Sinister’s lower back, splattering symbiotic fluid across the simmering waters as it slithered around to Frost’s backside. At the tentacle’s end grew a bulbous mushroom head, the tip of a shaft with a size equivalent to a fist. Frost’s demeanor changed, awakened in a sense, when she felt the warm precursory fluids of the writhing appendage squirt between her cheeks. Giving little warning, it tore into her tight ass with no reservations.

     “Hyyyyuueegghhaaaahhh!” The sweat that collected on her tongue allowed her such an agonizing scream, one that bubbled from her gut rather than her throat. Her stomach warped from Sinister grinding against her womb, his tentacle working its way along her innards --- she experienced a level of pain she believed she could only cause to others. Small puddles of blood formed beneath Frost and Sinister, his face remaining satisfied with what he believed was a purging of pride, her coming of age in terms of emotional maturity. She clenched her teeth but was soon met with yet another one of Sinister’s phallic tentacles, this one staring her right in the face.

     Summoning the last of her strength, her brows arched with lips pressed shut, filled with rage and agony. It was the final wall that Sinister had to break through in order to bring her to a stage of molding, of re-emergence. The dripping tentacle pressed against her cheek, battering her lips in an attempt to get her to open but she refused to budge and instead let out snarling whines of pain from Sinister’s unrelenting assault. She even snapped her teeth together at the tentacle with veins rising along her forehead.

     “Open wide for Lord Sinister, whore!” Mileena appeared behind Frost from a flash of pink energy, reaching her clawed fingers along her cheeks to pry her lips apart. Though Frost struggled to keep her mouth shut, Mileena’s bestial strength overwhelmed her in seconds, leaving a gaping wet hole for Sinister’s final appendage to sink into. Frost gagged the moment it plunged down her throat, the very force of its thrusts keeping her lips spread around it. Mileena stroked Frost’s lukewarm hair, laughing softly. “Good, good.”

     With every hole of Frost’s claimed, every nerve wracked with pain, Sinister found great joy in seeing her haughty behavior rectified in his eyes. This satisfaction was soon made clear to all as he hilted Frost one last time, staring at her twitching eyes as he gave her his blessing. Viscous. Scalding. Black. From every appendage he jammed into her body, filling every space he could hope to claim, Sinister’s seed was an absolute, leaving her limbs limp from the amount that overflowed into the pool. Once his veiny prick had finished pulsing liquid through every vein, the tentacles released her, letting her fall into Mileena’s grasp. Frost vomited the black liquid as she was carried over to the bridge near the temple’s entrance. 

     “So much….” Mileena set her body down, watching it twitch and spasm from the plethora of sensations she was trying to recognize. Her mouth laid agape, letting the excess fluids ooze out while her eyes remained indefinitely glazed from the ordeal.

     Sinister walked off the pool and onto the bridge, his tentacles and manhood receding into the blackness of his symbiotic flesh. “It was necessary. I have a feeling she has never been truly reprimanded to the point of breaking her entire life. Then again, she is young. It is expected. Bring her inside. We will watch over her until the morning.”

     “Yes, my lord.” Mileena picked Frost back up, carrying her into the Lin Kuei temple as Sinister followed. Frost had slipped into unconsciousness from the lingering pain, her pained eyes now shut out from the world.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     A large green portal opened at the top of a black stairway, swirling with souls. Shang Tsung emerged with Kano, Kabal and Kobra following. As they looked around, they realized why the place was named Chaosrealm. Descending the stairway, they came upon a large number of hanging lanterns amongst tombstones and grave plots, the sky above a distant black. However, just a few miles away, the sky was split into different shades of green, blue, orange, red and gray with each color situated above a fragmented island. Bridges that connected them were broken, shattered rock columns hovered in the atmosphere with seemingly no connection and there were many roads that went nowhere. 

     “What kinda place is this?” Kobra made it to the bottom of the stairwell, feeling different textures of earth under his feet.

     Kano bumped him aside with his shoulder, continuing on the small road that lead to a cemetery. “Tha’ ‘ell did ya think Chaosrealm meant? New York? Come on. Tsung said this guy hangs around the graves, right?”

     “That is correct. He has no set routine but he is known for coming to the cemetery quite often.” Shang Tsung walked with the rest of the group, eventually making it to the front where he pointed out a figure stroking the top of a tombstone.

     “Too bad Kira couldn’t come.” Kobra walked beside Kano, watching him take out his butterfly knife.

     “Eh. Thievin’ bitch should’ve kept ‘er ‘ands to ‘erself.” Kano started to shave himself with the knife, snorting.

     Kabal was one of the first to stop by the tombstone, giving the strange man space as the others gathered around. “This the guy?”

     The strange man wore red and black cloth wrapped along his body in different directions, leaving no room for symmetry. Covering his feet were two armored boots, one black and one gray. Beneath the black hood that covered his head was a mostly human face, flesh stripped completely from the nose down to his jawbone. He lifted his face to look at Shang Tsung, milky white eyes resting in his skeletal visage. “I knew you would come here, Shang Tsung. Unfortunately for you, I am not one to follow plans. Especially those set forth by Shao Kahn.”

     “You do not understand, Havik. Something is happening that requires immediate attention. Things other than the Mortal Kombat tournament.” Shang Tsung stepped closer.

     Havik stopped stroking the tombstone, head slightly canted. “Oh, but I do. The forces of good and evil are crumbling, so you have come here to rebuild  _ your _ side. What  _ you _ don’t understand is that I don’t  _ take _ sides, sorcerer.”

     Kabal stepped up to speak. “Have people been disappearing from here, Havik? We think something else is going on.”

     Havik snickered. “This is what your order gets you, repeating the same thing over and over, hoping to get a different answer. I know of the force you mention, as I’ve said before. Ripples in the waters have told us that a great chaos is coming, one that seeks to destroy order and decimate the realms for good. It will bring death, the only chaos that surpasses water. All systems cease, all order vanishes, there is nothing but…..nothing. A beautiful vision, I must say.”

     Kano scoffed, grabbing Havik by his throat. “Listen ‘ere, we ain’t got time for your little philosophical bullshit, mate. Are ya gonna help us or do we hafta make anotha’ tombstone for ya?”

     Havik responded by vomiting bloody chunks in Kano’s face, blinding him. Knocking Kano further back with a vicious headbutt, he watched Kano collapse, trying to wipe the mess from his face. Kobra held Kano back while the others grew tense around Havik, listening to him speak. “I am a cleric of chaos. I will only assist in bringing order if further disorder emerges from it. Besides, the great chaos will come to undo everything you wish to save, so I suppose it may just be fine to assist you. However, there is something you and your bandits must do for me before I lift a finger, Shang Tsung.”

     "You dare make demands---” Shang Tsung seethed.

     “I make statements, Shang Tsung. I dare not create an order for you to follow or a demand that must be reciprocated. It is against my very nature. In the realm of Seido, there is an officer named Hotaru who seeks to spread order to the rest of the realms, creating harsh punishments for those who do not obey. This is the ultimate antithesis of chaos and must be dissolved. If you are able to kill Hotaru and throw the realm of Seido into chaos, then I may be obliged to help you.” Havik started to walk away from them.

     “Hey! You can’t just.---” Kabal started after him but stopped when Havik snapped his neck, twisting his head backwards to face him.

     “Hello.” Havik spoke the greeting in such a manner that it was meant to embody a goodbye, continuing to walk away from the group.

     “This will be much more difficult than originally anticipated.” Shang Tsung grumbled, pulling Kabal back.

     “Eugh! Fuck that, mate! ‘At ratty-lookin’ mothafucka ain’t gonna just spit in my face like that an’ walk off. Ahm gonna finish tha’ job ‘at was started on his face!” Kano moved to get up, wiping the blood and gory chunks from his face. His cybernetic eye was glowing with rage.

     “No, you won’t Kano. At least not right now.” Kabal helped Kobra settle Kano down, keeping one hand on his hook sword just in case. “If this shit is as serious as Tsung and Havik are saying it is, we need all the help we can get. We’ll go to Seido, collect the head of this Hotaru and fuck shit up for ‘em. Then we’ll come back here and secure our spot among those who wanna survive.”

     Kano grumbled, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Fine! Let’s all go awn a lil’ field trip ta’ Orderland! Hell, we’ll go to Neutralworld afta’ this, see a buncha’ gray shit.” He stomped off back to the swirling green portal as the others followed suit.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**_The Next Morning…_ **

 

     “The next fight shall be  _ Sub-Zero _ versus  _ Ermac _ !” Shao Kahn’s voice bellowed throughout his Outworld coliseum as he sat in his skull-shaped throne. The light of day revealed Shao Kahn’s intimidating stature to the massive coliseum, his height easily towering over a majority of humans. Atop his head sat the helmet of a warlord with a skull-like design which masked the upper part of his face, a long crest built along the forehead. He wore spiked shoulder pads with similarly designed knee pads and gauntlets along with a skull medallion embedded in two leather straps which intersect across his chest. Few have ever seen him unmasked.

     Sub-Zero and Ermac walked toward each other from opposite sides of the coliseum, meeting just twenty feet in front of Shao Kahn. Liu Kang and Kung Lao watched by the sidelines, relieved that Sub-Zero joined them in the fight for Earthrealm. The stands were packed with people from both Outworld and Earthrealm, looking on to see the fate of their realms brought down to only a few people. 

     “First Sonya, now Jax --- this emperor will pay for taking our friends and keeping them like cattle.” Liu Kang burned with fury against Shao Kahn.

     He felt the bandaged hand of Kung Lao press against his shoulder. “Calm yourself, Liu Kang. The Lin Kuei are here to help. Once we defeat Shao Kahn, he  _ will _ tell us everything he knows.”

     “ _ Fight! _ ” Shao Kahn’s words boomed as Sub-Zero and Ermac started their bout. Ermac tried to lift Sub-Zero telepathically but his green waves of energy were blocked from the walls of ice Sub-Zero had suddenly created. The ice shattered from Ermac’s effort, forcing him to engage in close kombat. This was where Sub-Zero was dangerous, utilizing his superior martial arts training and cryogenic expertise to batter Ermac. A hammer of ice smashing across Ermac’s face, an ice sword impaling and breaking off in Ermac’s chest, a sliding shoulder charge reminiscent of his older brother that cracked Ermac’s rib cage --- Sub-Zero held nothing back against the thousand-soul warrior. 

     Ermac tried to counter with teleporting strikes only to have his attacks parried repeatedly and countered with strikes strengthened with ice. With the final attempt, Sub-Zero parried an uppercut, smashing Ermac’s face into the dirt. Ermac was bleeding out a green miasma, his injuries great enough for him to constantly stumble when trying to stand. 

     Shao Kahn saw this weakness and belted out “ _ Finish Him! _ ”

     Sub-Zero gathered a great deal of freezing energy in his palms, approaching Ermac’s staggering body to thrust the energy into his chest. Ermac groaned in pain as the energy started to freeze his entire body solid, mist rolling off his face frozen in a scream. Sub-Zero followed up with a powerful front kick, exploding Ermac’s frozen body into bloody fragments across the coliseum. The crowd cheered for Sub-Zero’s victory as the Lin Kuei warrior turned to Shao Kahn with determination in his eyes.

     “ _ Fatality!” _ Shao Kahn boomed once more, laughing and extending his arm out to Ermac’s pieces. Hundreds upon hundreds of the souls that made up Ermac were siphoned from the collective body and into Shao Kahn, giving his frame an eerie green glow. 

     “We have defeated the last of your forces, Shao Kahn. You are the only one who remains. Earthrealm’s fate  will be decided by this final battle.” Sub-Zero entered his fighting stance once more, ready to charge the emperor.

     “No.” The sky and the sun were soon blanketed with black clouds, lightning streaking through the air. Descending from the heavens was a familiar being cloaked in black. His crimson eyes, the red lightning crackling around him and even his authoritative tone brought the coliseum into silence. 

     Liu Kang stood up, staring at him. He instantly recognized the man. “Raiden!”

     The thunder god hovered a good distance from Shao Kahn, staring him down and gesturing for Sub-Zero to move aside. “Earthrealm’s fate will be decided by  _ me _ .” With a raise of his hand, a bolt of red lightning struck Shao Kahn. All of Outworld would hear him scream.


	7. The New Ways Pt. 1

     Shao Kahn’s flesh sizzled as the red lightning coursed through his body, the residual effect making him groan in agony. His head leaned to rest on his shoulder and fell silent. It was only a preface before slow chuckling filled the coliseum, his head lifting to show eyes burning with red energy. The charred flesh and exposed bone warped and twisted to regenerate his form back to the mountain of muscle it originally was. “Millennia of trying to stop my rule and you think that a little  _ lightning _ will harm me? Thunder god, you are null here.”

     Raiden scowled. “We shall see who is nullified, foul emperor!” Raising his hand again, a red bolt of lightning formed above the coliseum. He lowered his hand in a gesture to summon it but the arm was quickly broken, the bone snapped in two with a metal pang. Another seemingly invisible strike cracked Raiden’s back with a final blow bashing his face into the ground below. He laid there, crackling with electricity before looking up and seeing glowing eyes within fluctuating waves of air.

     The air solidified into a Tekunin warrior, different than the rest. It had cybernetic dreadlocks tied into a ponytail and the Lin Kuei symbol engraved into the right side of its chest plate. The leader of the Tekunin and cybernetic tyrant, Sektor, found victory over Raiden.  “Stand down, Thunder God or be annihilated by the Lin Kuei.”

     People in the coliseum muttered with questions and theories while Shao Kahn laughed again in victory. “As I said, Raiden, you are null in my domain. Now that I have the pesky Earthrealmers all gathered together, I may as well do what I would have done at the end of the tournament. But first --- Sektor, retrieve the amulet.”

     Raiden stood to his feet, entering a fighting stance with lightning surrounding him. “I will rend the flesh from your  _ bones _ !”

     Tekunin warriors started to fly into the coliseum, their metallic bodies humming with energy as they surrounded Raiden. Bolts of lightning were fired in an attempt to stop them but there were too many for even the Thunder God to subdue. While Raiden had grown powerful in his corrupted state with the Amulet of Shinnok, the Tekunin soon overcame his might. He caught sight of Liu Kang and Kung Lao being tased during his struggle, his eyes momentarily flickering to the original electric blue. In this moment, his body was enveloped with steel cables. They tightened around each limb and squeezed his neck like a noose. Sektor approached him as he was brought to his knees.

     “Nggkkh! How….how can they be this strong? Has Shao...K...nggkkk!” Raiden struggled to speak but fell into a slow descent of asphyxiation.

     Sektor reached down to pull the amulet from Raiden’s belt, analyzing it with digitized light beaming from his eyes. He became contemplative as Shao Kahn continued. “You see, Raiden, Earthrealm will be mine no matter what those toothless Elder Gods have to say about it. I have formed alliances with The Tekunin, The Centaurians and The Tarkatans. The strongest and most ruthless creatures of both Earthrealm and Outworld are under my command. And now that I have the most prized among the Kamidogu, I will eliminate the hierarchy and become  _ the _ Elder God!”

     “On the contrary, emperor, the right to become the elder god belongs only to me.” Sektor turned to face him. His chestplate opened up as he placed the amulet inside, locking it shut with the rest of the Tekunin staring down Shao Kahn.  “Just as the shadow creature, Sinister, has allowed us to augment our systems through kombat, your craving for power has allowed us to gain yet another artifact to further our goals for the Cyber Initiative.”

     “What?! You dare betray  _ me _ ?!” Shao Kahn stepped down from his throne chair, summoning his massive war hammer from a mist of green magic. Jet boots activated on a few of the Tekunin warriors as Sub-Zero stepped aside. Shao Kahn knocked the cyborgs clear outside the coliseum before charging at Sektor. Sektor activated a large blue shield that knocked Shao Kahn’s shoulder charge off balance, sending him tumbling backwards. 

     Recovering, Shao Kahn stood firmly on his feet and readied his war hammer for a second try. Sektor held a hand for him to stop, even more Tekunin entering the coliseum from the skies to subdue Sub-Zero, Liu Kang and Kung Lao.  “Your resistance is pointless, emperor. It is well known that you recruit individuals and even entire races to serve you, only to betray them when you see fit. So, I took the opportunity to take what I needed from you while I could. Now that we have the amulet and data from encounters with yourself, Sinister and the rest of the kombatants in this tournament, The Lin Kuei will systematically conquer every realm. All who refuse the Cyber Initiative will be destroyed.”

     Liu Kang and Kung Lao were pulled to their knees by the Tekunin’s steel cable restraints, hit with violent electric shocks whenever they struggled. As Sektor approached Shao Kahn for a clash, the sky grew black, prompting the entirety of the Tekunin to look up and activate their scanners. Thousands of robotic eyes glowed like stars in the pit of the coliseum, curious to see what was happening. The voice of Sinister came from the blackened sky as people in the stands panicked about what was transpiring. “A noble effort for a group of machines, I must say. But it still will not bode well for you, as Achlys has decided what the future shall be.”

     Sektor stepped back from Shao Kahn, putting all his attention into the descending Sinister.  “Sinister. Lin Kuei, put battle mechanisms on standby. Deactivate safety measures. Lethal force approved.”

     “I find it interesting that you and your ilk believe a chance encounter with me will automatically give you an advantage in combat. Your hubris knows no bounds and only confirms the hatred I have for such foul technology. It mirrors the blasphemy of the gods.” Sinister soon descended to levitate just a few feet above Shao Kahn’s throne chair, two figures emerging from either side of him. They slipped out of shadowy portals to reveal themselves to the rest of the crowd. On his left was Mileena, who stared right at Shao Kahn with her sais drawn. On the right was the newly indoctrinated Frost, her outfit and appearance radically changed.

     Instead of the upshot of frosty hair, her hair style was relaxed into short dreadlocks that somewhat resembled hanging icicles. Her eyes were a frosty shade of purple, glowing with the same Nether energy that Mileena was imbued with. Instead of the standard Lin Kuei outfit, she wore a full body sheer stocking with ice armor covering her chest and groin. The stocking itself was laced around each finger and toe to allow the greatest flexibility while still showing off her pale skin. Just like Mileena, the Mark of Theta was branded on her sternum with the same color as her eyes. Her exposed mouth twisted into a scowl the moment she saw Sub-Zero.

     “Mileena...this creature has revived you…” Shao Kahn spoke, bringing his war hammer down to his side.

     “This ‘being’ is Lord Maharana and he has  _ freed _ me, both from the clutches of your lies and the boundaries of this universe!” Mileena stepped down to the throne chair, standing on the seat with her sai pointed at Shao Kahn. “I no longer serve you  _ or _ Outworld. I serve Achlys.”

     Sub-Zero spoke from his restraints, his efforts to deep freeze the metallic coils met with bouts of extreme electrocution. “Frost…? Have you really betrayed the Lin Kuei?!”

     Frost created small platforms of ice to descend from, walking down to Sub-Zero. “I have  _ surpassed _ the Lin Kuei. You’re a worthless pacifist that brings dishonor to the clan. You have underutilized the Dragon Medallion and I am here to claim it, preferably from your dead body.”

     Sinister’s gaze wandered over to Raiden, who had taken on a shocked expression the moment he came upon the scene. “You can sense it, can’t you Raiden? The force that has been snatching souls from your realms? How pitiful that you came here only to be subdued by tin cans and an overzealous barbarian.”

     Shao Kahn turned to address Sinister. “You speak grandly for someone who hides in the shadows, ‘Maharana’. Come down here and face me in kombat!”

     “Don’t worry. I plan on taking each of you on at my leisure to make sure you all understand the hopelessness you face without joining me. I will take this opportunity to close this tournament with new matches. For those who don’t know, I am the reason the people in your realms have been disappearing. I am the force that has liberated Mileena and Frost. I am Sinister Maharana, Son of Achlys and progenitor of The Vantablack Genesis. I won’t bore you with the details, but in the most basic sense, your realms will soon be unified under me. From there, you will either be a part of me or you shall be unified in the same suffering that befell Shinnok and Quan Chi.” Sinister descended toward Shao Kahn’s throne seat with Mileena hopping off to stand just a few feet from the emperor himself. “Since it would be such a shame to slaughter the few here that may be worthy to become Achlysites, I will stand by the tournament layout.  _ I _ will call the matches I believe hold the greatest entertainment for the lowly people here and bring a grand finale to decide the fate of Earthrealm. It is mostly the same except that Shao Kahn won’t be sucking the souls out of the person who loses. The winners will battle until there is one worthy to face me. The losers shall be given the option of joining me or suffering forced assimilation. But it all ends the same anyway, doesn’t it?”

     “This is insane! I refuse to play some demon’s game!” Sub-Zero released a deep freeze from his body, knocking the Tekunin off that were restraining him. “Face me, shadow!”

     Sinister rubbed his chin with a smile, crossing his legs in Shao Kahn’s seat. “It’s always good to see so many strange people willing to throw their lives away for tradition. Sub-Zero, if you are able to defeat your opponents, then we will indeed fight. But since you were the winner of the previous match, let’s pit you against your apprentice, and my newest Achlysite, Frost. Yes. Yes, that sounds like quite a treat, doesn’t it? Sub-Zero versus Frost!”

     Sektor gestured to his Tekunin, holding them back.  “Lin Kuei, enter standby. We have what we need. Analyzing a bit more data for a more accurate rate of success can bring no harm.”

     Shao Kahn too came to settle on the sidelines with the others, letting his war hammer rest between his legs and slam to the ground. “Very well. Less fools I need to kill to continue my plan. Be on with it!”

     Raiden grumbled, letting the red lightning around his body settle into intermittent sparks of unrest. “This shall be the last tournament, a final farewell to the ways of the Elder Gods.”

     Sinister pressed his hands together, watching the area clear until only Sub-Zero and Frost were facing one another from either side. “Excellent. Sub-Zero, Frost. Get ready.  **Fight!** ”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     In the Realm of Seido, order was more important than life and death. Those who dwelled in the lands understood that the law surpassed any and every tradition or way of life an individual held dear. A vast highland made of narrow, bridge-like roads, the realm of order displayed more magical properties than any other. Streams and fountains were occupied by water with no origin and no end, long trees sprouted in orderly rows from the roads and the circular plane which the four segments of the massive city rested on had no logical reason to levitate in an empty expanse. It was as if the order that was so rigorously enforced in the city created a passive paradise that people could rarely enjoy. 

     Leading this charge for peace were the Seidan Guardsmen, a task force of armored soldiers lead by Hotaru. They were in charge of maintaining the utopian, militaristic peace that kept Orderrealm the way it was, working each day to destroy the resistance that had formed from the many years of strict rule. Walking along one of the roads, Hotaru’s blank eyes observed the symmetry of the pyramid-shaped buildings that filled the city. He was never seen without his dark turquoise armor, lined with gold that covered his body from the neck down. A red jewel sat in the center of his chestplate, thought to be a way for him to channel the natural magical energies all Seidans had.

     He stopped walking when he could sense someone trailing behind him, his long white hair coming to rest on either side of his armored shoulders. As he turned, the light of dusk illuminated the Sashimono flags jutting from the back of his armor, the kanji on red, tattered cloth representing the Seidan Guardsmen. He saw a male figure dressed in armor similar to Hotaru’s but with no flags and no hair. The figure had an orderly goatee and a gaze that commanded respect. Hotaru addressed him the same as he would any other at a time like this. “What are you doing out? You should know that there is a curfew in effect.”

     The bearded man stepped closer to Hotaru, only giving them a few feet of room. “There is a pressing matter that must be tended to, Commander Hotaru. I have word of an imminent threat upon the realm of order.”

     Hotaru paused to take in the information, his head going into a slow nod to understand what was told. “I know,  _ Shang Tsung _ . But you are no more a threat than Darrius and the resistance are.”

     The bearded man slowly morphed back into Shang Tsung, the armor changing into his usual robes. “Then you are not the fool I took you for.”

     Hotaru held his hands behind his back, standing at attention. “Where are your minions, sorcerer? I know that you do not wander into other realms alone.”

     Shang Tsung looked around, as if expecting The Black Dragon to reveal themselves from one of the pyramid buildings. It prompted Hotaru to laugh and gesture for Shang Tsung to follow him. “Come with me. We will speak on exactly why you are here before your imprisonment.”

     Shang Tsung followed Hotaru into one of the massive pyramid buildings, looking puzzled all the while. Thoughts raced through his head on where The Black Dragon could have been and if they may have betrayed him. Emotions fluctuated through the sorcerer until they eventually reached a board room meant for holding meetings among the Seidan Guardsmen. It appeared to be the same as any other Earthrealm office but with a long, levitating black and gold table in the center. Surrounding the table were seats formed from the earth beneath them, lined with gold trim. Shang Tsung seated himself at one end of the table while Hotaru sat at the head, his seat having a bit more gold on it than the others.

     “Shang Tsung, I will begin this by assuming that you and The Black Dragon have been sent here to assassinate me for Havik. Is that right?” Hotaru folded his hands in front of him, scraping his armor against the table.

     “And I am guessing you know this because The Black Dragon sold me out! Those bastards, I’ll ---”

     Hotaru lifted a hand to wave it at Shang Tsung. “The Black Dragon didn’t inform me. However, there _ has _ been a bit of misinformation happening, I’m afraid. You believed that you were sent here because Havik wanted my head and the Realm of Seido to be thrown into chaos. However, you were meant to be here for a different reason.”

     Shang Tsung lifted a brow, seeing a few drops of blood leak from Hotaru’s hand onto the table. “What are---”

     “Long has Seido and the Chaosrealm been at odds, struggling between one extreme or the other all for the sake of balance. The best sense of order we ever achieved was under the Dragon King, Onaga. During those times, we were under a leader who understood each realm and had the power to quell any threat that came to it. He destroyed so that he could rebuild in perfect unity, allowing the Seidans to enforce that strict level of symmetry among the realms.” The small trail of blood coming from Hotaru’s armored hand started to float up in the form of red blots. “But under Shao Kahn, not only has Outworld become unruly and disorderly but such chaos has spread to other realms. Even worse, he wishes to unify all the realms  _ in chaos _ ! A maddening thought if I ever had one.”

     Shang Tsung started chanting an incantation under his breath, lips moving slowly along one another as his eyes remained on Hotaru and the strange floating blood.

     “Swallow your spells, Shang Tsung. Your fate has already been sealed, scheduled in an orderly manner down to the second. There is a new order that will come, one that draws the best from anarchy and order to create a new standard. A realm of blood.” The blood that was floating shot into Hotaru’s eyes, slicing them open to force more blood to pour from his face. Dripping the red fluid on the table, he clenched his eyes shut and opened them again to have them completely healed. The blank white expanse of his eyes was replaced by a rippling wave of red along his sclera, an eerie glow just beneath the surface. “You and The Black Dragon will be the primary sacrifice…. _ to the Blood God! _ ”

     Hotaru thrust his hand forward, launching a spear made of blood to impale Shang Tsung. Having just finished his incantation, Shang Tsung summoned a large blast of fire from his palms to evaporate the blood. However, the blood vapor quickly surrounded Shang Tsung, slicing into his skin in the form of thousands of smaller needles. They were fashioned in the way of acupuncture, paralyzing him back into his seat while Hotaru walked over to Shang Tsung surrounded by a red aura. His voice gurgled with evil. “The thousands of souls you have claimed will make a great sacrifice.”

     “Fuck  _ off _ !” Kobra smashed his way into the conference room, a group of Seidan Guardsmen following close behind with the same blood red eyes that their commander held. Kobra launched himself in front of Hotaru with a flying kick to the face. 

     Hotaru caught Kobra’s leg, breaking it in half at the knee and slamming him against the conference table by the broken limb. He pressed his hands around Kobra’s head, holding it up to snap his neck and let it fall against the glass with a bloody thud. “But this may do for now. Guardsmen, take Shang Tsung to the courtroom. He will be judged by the Blood God.”

     Two hook swords boomeranged through the small group of Seidan Guardsmen, decapitating and bisecting their bodies before returning to the hands of Kabal. “Never  _ did _ like this place.”

     A powerful laser exploded the head of the Seidan Guardsman nearest Hotaru, splattering blood against his displeased face.  Kano stepped forward, shrugging. “Yeah. Ev’ry one ‘round here ‘as a stick up their ass. Just screams trouble.”

     “Breaking curfew, killing officers of the law and going against the will of the Blood God?! All of you will be sentenced to death!” A flaming wave of blood spewed from Hotaru’s mouth toward The Black Dragon as he screamed in rage. 

     Kabal used his supernatural speed to blow the flames back with a blinding display of his hook swords, firing a purple spark of energy from his respiratory mask. The powerful spark was enough to knock Hotaru across the table and through the other side of the conference room. “Kano! Get Tsung!”

     Kano picked up the paralyzed Shang Tsung as he rushed out of the conference room with Kabal, looking around the eerily quiet city of Seido. “An’ go where, mate? Tsung can’t move and there ain’t really any fuckin’ airports ‘round ‘ere!”

     Kabal pulled out a small black and red device that appeared to be a modified flash grenade. “We’ll use this once we get enough distance from ‘em.”

     Kano shook his head, his eyes widening while Shang Tsung was carried on his back. “Ah, hell no! ‘At junkie hacka’ ain’t even get those things workin’ right! ‘At’s onna’ tha’ reasons we ‘ooked up with Tsung in tha’ firs’ place, so we didn’ kill ah’selves tryin’ ta’ ---”

     “Kano, just shut up, hang onto Tsung and grab hold of me.” Kabal was looking for the fastest way off of the city’s floating structure, the sound of Seidan Guardsmen coming up close behind.

     “Dis’ is gettin’ a lil’ too close fah me.” Kano wearily got close to Kabal, his face uneasy.

     “ _ Just fucking do it, Kano!” _ Kabal’s anger was enough for Kano to grab hold of Kabal as Tsung passed out from the pain of the blood needles. Before Kano could ask any more questions, Kabal pushed off with a running start. His supernatural strength and speed were able to dart all three of them across the Seidan city in a matter of seconds, their appearance being a colorful blur to the guardsmen. When they reached the edge of the city, Kabal leaped off and tossed the strange grenade beneath them. Upon exploding in a thick, black cloud, all three of them vanished into the  smoke. When the cloud dissipated, Shang Tsung, Kabal and Kano were nowhere to be found.

     Hotaru emerged from the pyramid building, ordering his fellow guardsmen to halt. They all started to kneel when a familiar figure approached, Hotaru expressing disappointment. “We were not able to capture the sacrifices. They escaped. Rest assured that we will go after them and make sure ---”

     The figure’s face was revealed in the dimming sunlight, the partially grinning face of Havik looking down upon Hotaru. His chest glowed with the symbol of the Chaosrealm Kamidogu, particles of blood rising from it. “There is no need. We have Chaosrealm and Orderrealm. There are only so many places they can run to. Once all the sacrifices have been given unto me, the ritual of the blood god will be complete. The One Being will come alive again, through the blood it left within the Kamidogu.”

     All the guardsmen bowed their heads and spoke in unison. “Yes, Master Havik.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Sub-Zero and Frost exchanged blows for a duration of their match, filling the former with confusion that someone who Scorpion brought down so easily was giving him such a hard time. Frost’s dainty feet danced across sheets of ice she formed for herself along the ground, which were also an attempt to knock Sub-Zero off balance. While Sub-Zero countered with his own assault of ice bursts and weaponry, he could barely break through Frost’s defenses as they were made with a mysterious black ice version of cryomancy. 

     Frost slid low across a sheet of ice to drive her knee into Sub-Zero’s groin during one of his attacks, following up with a jaw-rattling elbow to knock him clear into the air. “ _ This _ is the power of  Grandmaster? Pathetic.” She leaped up into the air to join him and drove her heel into his sternum with a heel kick. 

     Sub-Zero smashed into the ground, cracking the surrounding ice and causing dust to fly into the cuts and bruises riddling his body. Instead of speaking, he spent most of the time recovering with ragged breath before standing to his feet. Swirling his hands together, a great mass of ice was being formed with trailing wisps of smoke writhing from it. Sub-Zero’s eyes were emanating with cryogenic energy and his arms crackled as they were covered with icy armor. He seemed more focused than ever.

     Frost couldn’t help but laugh at his attempt, The Mark of Theta on her body glowing intensely as she transformed into a solid ice version of herself. Complete with glacial skin and a purple aura, she was determined to kill her master. “Even the Medallion won’t save you from this.”

     Sub-Zero blasted Frost with an incredible cryogenic wave, the air around them dropping phenomenally in temperature. The moisture in the air flash froze into ice droplets and gleamed the intense energy coming from Sub-Zero’s eyes. His mouth stretched wide in a scream, his eyes soon following when he discovered what was happening in the middle of his attack. The rush of cryogenic energy had suddenly stopped and a fresh stream of blood had just begun. Frost’s hand had ripped through his chest, clenching his heart. When she pulled her fingers together to crush it, the heart cracked and shattered into ice.

     Before Frost could realize what had happened, she felt the deafening slam of Sub-Zero’s ice hammer on the back of her head. The Lin Kuei Grandmaster had descended from the sky, producing a near-perfect ice clone to bait her. “No matter how much power you have, you are  _ still  _ just a beginner!”

     Sub-Zero battered and smashed the large ice hammer against her skull until she no longer moved, dragging the heavy end of the blunt weapon off to his side. Sinister squinted at Frost’s unresponsive body almost disappointed but, ultimately, happy. When Sub-Zero turned to Sinister to end the match, Sinister waggled a finger toward Frost’s body. A wisp passed Sub-Zero’s vision as a large blade of ice pushed against Sub-Zero. Though he could feel the pressure of the blade, which cracked a few of his bones, he couldn’t feel death’s embrace. That fate befell another.

     “G….g….grandmaster….” Smoke’s entire torso had been ripped asunder by the blade, parts of his skewed body protecting Sub-Zero from being fully impaled. His head craned down, devoid of life while Sub-Zero cradled his fading body. 

     “Smoke! Frost….why…..?” Sub-Zero was overcome with emotion. He could relate to the sheer rage that his brother felt in his last days, tempted to give in to the unrelenting anger that was starting to flood his mind. But in that moment of deciding whether or not to let his emotions overtake him, he fell to his knees with Smoke, saying a prayer for Smoke in Japanese.

     Frost believed that she had all but confirmed Sub-Zero’s weakness, summoning a blade of ice to decapitate him. “Goodbye, Grandmaster.”

     “Hold, Frost.” Sinister held out his hand. “Leave the cryomancer be with his deceased brother. Perhaps this will shed new light on the truth for him. Remember,  _ all _ souls,  _ all _ things belong to Achlys. We will retrieve the medallion once this tournament has ended”

     Frost reluctantly stayed her blade, bowing to Sub-Zero and Smoke before sliding back to Sinister’s side. She crafted a seat out of ice while Sinister rested an arm around her body, watching her cryogenic second skin dissipate back to her pale, voluptuous flesh.

     “The winner is Frost! She will advance in the tournament while Sub-Zero and Smoke have been eliminated. Next up: Mileena versus Shao Kahn!” The coliseum erupted into roaring cheers, infatuated with the violence about to take place. Whenever Shao Kahn fought someone one on one, it was always a spectacle to behold. As Mileena and Shao Kahn met on the battlefield, Sub-Zero finished his prayer and rose to his feet to carry Smoke away. The Lin Kuei warriors who had come to support their Grandmaster followed suit, walking in silence to the nearest portal.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Kabal, Kano and Shang Tsung landed on a cold, stone floor from their impromptu wormhole. Kabal was the first to regain composure from the harsh landing, gathering himself and giving Kano a swift kick to wake up. “Get the fuck up! We gotta find out where we went.”

     Kano rubbed his stomach, cursing under his breath as he laid Shang Tsung against a nearby wall. The blood needles had buried into his skin, leaving him with flu-like symptoms and a questionable consciousness. “Aight, aight! Shit. Smells bad ‘nough down here without you shoutin’ through that funky mask ‘ah yours.”

     There was a faint, intermittent dripping that came from the high ceiling with rock, brick and gravel all around them. Feeling around, Kabal’s hand pressed against what felt like a cell door. He followed the wall to discovered there was a whole line of cell doors, old and rusted as if they had been there for hundreds of years. On one of the last walls to touch, he came upon a chained-up skeleton with maggots crawling along the bones. “Eugh! Looks like we’re in a prison of some kind.  Did we make it to Shao Kahn’s tower? I don’t see any Tarkatans.”

     Kano did some investigating of his own, using his cybernetic eye to see through the darkness that blanketed the cavern. He stopped with a surprised face as he back up into Kabal, smacking him on the shoulder repeatedly. “Uh...mate...Kabal!”

     “What?!” Kabal turned around to see two large orange eyes peering back at them from afar. There were slivers of light that came from manhole-sized cages built into the ceiling, creating primitive and stationary spotlights. 

     The glowing eyes moved higher and started coming toward the two with loud stomping before the body the eyes were attached to was revealed. Four arms, red scaly skin, black talons and a swaying tail could be seen on this beast. It laughed at their confusion and fear, breathing small burst of flame with every word that came from its mouth. “Let us see if The Black Dragon can survive the lair of Prince Goro!”


	8. The New Ways Pt. 2

     Kano’s cybernetic laser and Kabal’s superhuman speed were both useless against the mutated Shokan prince, Goro. Although, Kano never  _ was _ one for admitting defeat. “Ain’t no way we can’t take down ‘is four-armed bastard! C’mon, Kabal!”

     Kabal fired one of his purple sparks at Goro, only to watch it bounce off his body and fizzle along the ground. When his hook swords scraped across Goro’s dragon scales, the Shokan prince smashed Kabal into a row of prison bars. The loud metal clang reverberated within his body, making his painful groan all the louder. “You...nnggh!...fuckin’ nuts?! I ain’t no dragon slayer! Let’s move!”

     “I’m tired uh runnin’! Jus’ ‘cause ‘is fuckhead got a lil’ powah up don’ mean I ain’t got somethin’ uh my own ta’ try.” Kano curled into a ball and flew at Goro, smashing against his chest and forcing him to stumble. When Kano regained his composure, he immediately leapt at Goro with one of his butterfly knives. “Les’ jus’ see how tough dem  _ eyes _ are!”

     With Goro preoccupied with a cagey Kano, Kabal rubbed his back, picked up his hook swords and looked around for a way out. “You do that, Kano. I’m gonna make sure we get outta here alive.”

     “Pitiful  _ human _ !” Goro yanked at Kano’s limbs, dislocating one of his legs and bruising an arm. Fortunately for the Black Dragon warrior, Kano’s infatuation with sadomasochism and torture only made injuries like these a minor nuisance. 

     “Wanna get kinky, eh?!” Kano jammed the edge of his knife into Goro’s eye, sinking the blade until hilt met skull. Enraged, Goro talons tore into the side of Kano’s head, ripping out his cybernetic eye. The fragments of skull and brain that came with it splattered against the stone and against Shang Tsung. Goro breathed fire as he stumbled into the throes of death with Kano dying atop him, smiling. 

     Kabal turned when he heard Goro’s flames, seeing how Kano’s tenacity ensured him victory at great cost. Though he could see both Goro and Kano were dead, Shang Tsung’s paralyzed body was nowhere to be found. He cautiously approached the corpses and knelt down to sift Kano’s cybernetic plate from the gore. “Tch. Aussie bastard.” Seeing the electronic cables connect from the plate and wrap around Kano’s spine, the red light blinked intermittently. Looking up to the barred holes in the lair’s ceiling, Kabal tweaked with the cables while Kano’s body was still hot to the touch.

     A small burst of energy shot from the cybernetic eye when he tightened the cables around his spine, slicing one of the prison bars in two. Taking advantage of this revelation, he aimed the steel plate at the barred hole over Goro’s throne chair, firing a burst strong enough to slice through the bars. Shortly after creating a way to freedom, the cybernetics in Kano’s body fizzled out. Kabal chuckled, running a gloved hand along the cheek of Kano’s that wasn’t torn off. “Mm. Heh. Never  _ did _ last long, did ya? At least this time it was enough.”

     Kabal got up to walk over to the ray of darkened sunlight beaming through the open hole, only to hear loud stomping when he reached the halfway point. Turning around, he barely avoided the swipes of Goro’s talons, seeing his head injury start to regenerate with flickering embers. Goro roared in defiance and grabbed Kabal’s legs with his lower arms while his upper arms yanked his head. “I will tear you in two, human! The Shokan do not fall easily!”

     Kabal could feel his neck cracking, the mask on his face loosening from Goro’s invasive black talons. The cracking sound traveled down his spine, letting him know that the half-dragon prince was going to tear him in two. His arms were beginning to numb and his superhuman speed had very few uses with his legs caught within the crushing grip of the giant behind him. It was then that he remembered one weapon he used on recruits that liked to give him lip. Unlike Kano, his brutality was something to be earned, giving him many options in reprimand. 

     Kabal pulled his head back along Goro’s palms, letting his sharp talons scrape the side of his face and inadvertently slice through the leather straps keeping it secured to his head. The sounds of his respirator stopped as he bent his head back to look directly at Goro. His supernatural speed was put to an unprecedented use, having his face shake back and forth to accentuate the horror that hid behind the mask. His tongue was kept near the front of his mouth by the mask but, without it, the pink muscle writhed freely. The charred tongue rolled about and bounced between the gaping wounds in his cheeks, producing a mixture of sloppy wet and screeching dry noises. The saliva failed to wet the ever dry burns along his jaw. 

     Instead of eyelids, there were ragged drapes of flesh barely able to cover his eyes and easily sank into his skull when his gaze was widened. The lips were burned to the point of exposing yellowed spots of his jawbone, gums blackened to imitate solidified ink. A few dry, raspy exhales left his mouth for the brief moment his eyes met with Goro’s. Whenever a recruit asked Kabal what he looked like behind his mask, he would always tell them that it was death warmed over. The way Goro’s teeth chattered and skin chilled from his menacing gaze, Kabal was beginning to believe his own ghoulish hype. There was silence and then a scream.

     “YYYAAAAAAAAAEEEEEGGGHHHHHHH!” Kabal’s bloodcurdling scream ripped the pride right from Goro’s spirit, letting an unimaginable amount of fear wash over him. Goro released Kabal and fell onto his back with convulsions, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. In a matter of moments, Prince Goro was dead from a heart attack, allowing Kabal to reconnect his mask and respirator. He shook his head at the dead Shokan but didn’t stick around to see if he could regenerate from such horrors. A few short leaps and a bit of climbing with his hook swords secured his freedom through the open hole.

     A strange mist of blood followed shortly after and drifted through the ceiling opening.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     “Mileena versus Shao Kahn. Ready.  **Fight!** ” Sinister announced the next match with a growing, sadistic joy. Mileena and Shao Kahn were mere feet from one another, their bestial blood urging them to tear one another to pieces. Mileena vanished in her signature pink mist, reappearing in the air above Shao Kahn for one of her diving kicks. Shao Kahn summoned his war hammer from an equally mysterious green mist, knocking her body through the air and across the ground with a furious grunt. 

     “First, Kitana betrays me for the pitiful Edenians that have long-since been slain. Now, my own daughter, the one who was supposed to rule beside me, betrays me for some Netherrealm wraith.” Shao Kahn walked over to Mileena with a patient stride, the sandy gravel crunching beneath his sandaled feet. “It doesn’t matter how much you’ve gained from this treachery. I will take everything from you, blow by blow.”

     Mileena tried to sweep Shao Kahn in his downed state but one of her ankles was smashed by his heel. The emperor was observant of the half-Tarkatan, crushing the bone with one stomp and sending her into an uproar of pain. He looked at her other foot before smashing the remaining ankle with a stomp strong enough to shake the coliseum floor. Shao Kahn raised his hammer over his head to smash Mileena into paste, as he had done countless others who defied his rule. But Mileena was ready.

     Mileena raised her hand to launch both sais from the pink mist that enveloped her hands, slicing into Shao Kahn’s throat. Tearing through his jugular, the pronged weapons sat comfortably in his throat as he stumbled backward with gurgling groans. Her ankles cracked and reformed due to the regenerative properties of the Nether, gradually allowing her to stand. Shao Kahn felt obliged to drop his hammer from the pain but held onto it with a vigor so fierce, his arms became entangled with veins. His free hand covered his throat with a green glow enveloping the wound. Soon, his breathing returned to normal, the gurgles replaced by deep laughter. The sais dropped to the ground, having him kick them away.

     “I see Shang Tsung spared no expense making you the vicious daughter I wanted. It’s too bad you couldn’t do the one thing you were made for.” Shao Kahn held his war hammer with both hands, his eyes glowing a spectral green.

     “I was supposed to be your daughter and, instead, you treated me like some common henchman. You gave me over to Baraka and honored Kitana like the princess she was in Edenia! She  _ killed _ me and  _ you _ didn’t even  _ revive _ me! All your power,  _ emperor _ , and this is how you treat your supposed daughters?!” Mileena was furious and the Nether synchronized with her emotions, fueling her body with more power than she had felt before. 

     “Silly child. You were supposed to be a safeguard, to make sure that the last piece of Edenia was loyal to Outworld and its emperor. Your status as a daughter was worthless. Even early on, I could see that you became too obsessed with Kitana and that your Tarkatan blood was becoming much more evident. Feasting on the bodies of your enemies, promiscuity among the locals, an obsession with death --- all of these things were fine and I enjoyed watching them. But they are no attributes for a princess.” Shao Kahn laughed again, tapping the head of his war hammer.

     “So you let me die, like some dog and hunted Kitana in the same manner?! What kind of man are you?!” Mileena started to step to him and readied her razor-sharp claws for kombat.

     “I am no  _ man _ , Mileena. I am  _ emperor _ and soon to be  _ Elder God _ .” Shao Kahn surprised Mileena with his infamous shoulder rush, hastily crashing his shoulder against her chest and leaving a trail of green afterimages in his wake. Mileena caught herself along the ground this time, using her nails to stop the backward momentum. Clawing against the dirt, she screamed before launching herself at Shao Kahn again, intent on clawing out those glowing eyes behind his mask. 

     Shao Kahn caught Mileena by the throat, slamming her back onto the ground with a chokeslam. Laughter slipped from his lips again as he dangled the hammer over her face. “It is a shame that you turned out to be such a failure, Mileena. Your Nether is no match for  _ my _ power.  _ Un galak si ada ti phil, aza heenyae!” _

     Kahn’s mystic chant caused a beam of green lightning to fire into Mileena’s skull from the end of his hammer. Though her body tried to regenerate and The Mark of Theta resonated with a loud hum on her sternum, she was quickly overwhelmed by Shao Kahn’s lethality. Many in the coliseum were shocked to see just how strong their emperor was. Her head melted from the intense heat and his sorcery was advanced enough to power against the Nether. But Sinister wasn’t surprised in this turn of events. In fact, he expected it to happen.

     Frost looked over at Sinister, wondering if the power he gave them was false. “Lord Maharana, is the Nether that weak? That even a simple warlord can overpower it?”

     Sinister snickered, shaking his head with folded hands resting under his chin. “No. The Nether’s power is limitless, Frost. However, when I bless my followers, they only receive a fragment of the Nether. Think of it like an elder plant releasing seeds into the atmosphere. If the soil is strong, then the seed will grow quickly and fend off the hardships of the world to become like its predecessor. However, if the soil is weak, then the seed grows much slower and is torn asunder by the world around it. Mileena is a ferocious woman but can not apply the Nether in a way that compliments its versatility or true strength. She is but an infant wielding a bomb.”

     Frost looked on smugly, coming to enjoy Mileena’s demise. “So she is, my lord. So she is.”

     Mileena’s screams of agony ratcheted to painful levels and her claws tried in vain to slash against the emperor’s mountain of muscle. When he could see the white of her skull, Shao Kahn brought the hammer down and ended the match with a sickening thud. The sound of her brain matter wriggling between his steel and the ground brought most to silence. It was only when he stood up, raising his hammer in victory, that the coliseum erupted in cheers for him.

     “Shao Kahn wins! Fatality!” Sinister offered light claps of applause to Shao Kahn’s savagery, reminding him of Savage Ken’s brutal ways when finishing an opponent. Kahn raised the end of his hammer and pointed to Sinister with brains slipping from the steel. It was his way of letting him know that his head would be the next to be crushed under his might. Sinister responded by announcing the next match, shocking the participants involved. “Next match! Raiden versus Liu Kang and Kung Lao!”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     As Kabal emerged from Goro’s Lair, he found himself surrounded by familiar faces and the barrel of a gun pressed against his head. He turned to see Daegon standing with a group of Red Dragon soldiers, expecting an attempted escape by The Black Dragon. They were all standing in front of a waterfall surrounded by beautiful flora, common for Shang Tsung’s island. The waters quietly rushed well behind them into a large pool teeming with life. The sun accented the entire scene in a haunting orange glow, battling the tropical breeze that swept through.

     “Well well and here I thought The Black Dragon were just a bunch of rejects. At least I was right about Kano. You never did have your head shoved  _ too _ far up your ass, now did you Kabal?”

     A Red Dragon member approached Kabal in his kneeling state, kicking him in the side of the head. Kabal soon collected himself, shaking off the blow as the gun returned to press against his head. “Never could get it as far as yours. Speaking of which, what  _ did _ bring you out from your ass cave in the mountains?” The same Red Dragon member doubled back to kick him against his face again. This time, Kabal simply keeled off to the side before sitting up again. “You kick me again, motherfucker, I’ll take that leg right off ya.”

     “You know what we came here for, Kabal. The Black Dragon has been a thorn in our side the moment Kano decided to splinter off and form it. It’s insubordination and treason, simple as that. We can’t allow that to go unpunished.” Daegon approached Kabal, arms held behind his back.

     “How did you know where we’d be? Not like we tipped you off and Tsung’s clueless.” Kabal leaned back on his knees, getting a better view of the small group of Red Dragon soldiers surrounding them with assault rifles.

     “Actually, you did. Or rather, Kano did. Back when he was part of The Red Dragon, he was injured, you know. A Major Jackson Briggs discovered that he was working with us and had betrayed the U.S. Special forces of Earthrealm. So, Briggs smashed his skull open, collapsing one of his eyes. He was brought to Charred Mountain on his deathbed. During the reconstruction, I ordered that a tracking device be placed in his cybernetic implant. Reason being, Kano isn’t exactly trustworthy and if he were to switch sides, like I knew he would, I would at least be able to know where he was. Thankfully, he never found out how much of a mule he was. 

     Kabal scoffed, shrugging his shoulders. “That….doesn’t explain how you all were waiting for us when we got here, though. All it tells me is that you’re a manipulative asshole.”

     “Well, to be fair, we weren’t waiting for you. Goro was. We had a bit of an issue with him stationed at Charred Mountain, so we sent him here, back to his lair in-between major tests we were running on his transformation. Really, you all ending up here was nothing short of a case of bad luck. But thankfully, it worked in my favor. Now, before you’re killed, I want to introduce you to the replacements to you and Kano.” Daegon stepped aside to show two figures standing a few feet away from Kabal.

     Hsu Hao had replaced Kano. He was a muscular Mongolian soldier who wore olive drab military pants with black knee pads and combat boots. His upper body was bare except for a black cybernetic apparatus that was integrated into his left arm and the left part of his chest over his heart. Glowing red circuitry ran through the apparatus, centered in a circular implant that flashed whenever he used some of its overwhelming power to augment his physical strength. Veins bulged on his form with eyes constantly illuminated, showing that his abuse of his cybernetic heart was normal.

     The man who stood beside him, and eventually stepped to stand beside Daegon, was the Red Dragon lieutenant. Mavado. He wore a long black cape with a red interior and silver shoulder pads. The pants he wore were black and slightly armored, the waist reaching to just above his navel. While one arm remained sleeveless, the other was covered in a red and black sleeve that attached to his cape. On the back of his cape was the Red Dragon symbol, showing everyone that his allegiance rested with no other. Reaching up, he ran fingers through his hair and looked to Kabal with a stoic expression. It was soon broken by a cocky smile. “It’s finally time to put down this dying dragon.”

     The Red Dragon soldier who had kicked Kabal twice before ignored the warrior’s warning and went to kick him again. Kabal unsheathed one of his hook swords and sliced through flesh and bone to relieve the soldier of his leg. As it flew through the air, he unsheathed his second hook sword and decapitated the soldier behind him. The headless body spasmed as it fell to the ground, inadvertently firing the assault rifle before it fell from his twitching hands. The bullets lodged into two other Red Dragon soldiers as Kabal entered a low squat, glaring at Mavado. 

     “Kill him!” Daegon’s rage fueled an aura around his body but Mavado and Hsu Hao stepped in front of him. Hsu Hao charged at Kabal while the remaining handful of Red Dragon soldiers fired relentlessly at Kabal. Kabal quickly deflected and even sliced the bullets as he moved away from them, intermittently swinging his hook swords at Hsu Hao. The mongolian caught one blade as Mavado ordered the soldiers to stop shooting. Growling, Hsu Hao broke both hook swords with his bare hands and smashed his boot into Kabal’s chest, launching him across the ground. 

     “I’ll let you have this one, Hsu. Haven’t seen you ball someone up in a while.” Mavado chuckled, nodding to Daegon. The half-god’s rage calmed as he joined in on the jovial moment, the soldiers now at rest. Kabal tried to run past Hsu Hao with his supernatural speed but was clotheslined back to the ground. Kabal was picked up like a ragdoll after the impact cracked his mask and held over Hsu Hao’s head to slowly break his back in two. Red energy rushed through Hsu’s veins while the sound of Kabal’s cracking skeleton encouraged more laughter and joy from the Red Dragon. In the midst of trying to snap him completely in two, Hsu Hao’s cybernetic heart was impaled by an oriental sword.

     Before he could react, the sword seemed to magically slice him from heart to head, bisecting him into a heap that fell to the ground. Kabal landed in the gore but quickly moved away from both the dead Hsu and the floating sword. “The fuck?”

     The sword was encompassed by a blue glow, rushing to impale one of the other soldiers and decapitate the rest in a flawless and clean motion, leaving Kabal with Daegon and Mavado. A great push of energy suddenly overwhelmed Mavado and Daegon, launching them against the waterfall and into the deep pool beside them. From one of the nearby caves was a blindfolded swordsman who summoned the sword back into his hands. He spoke softly but with a command that even Kabal couldn’t deny. “Hurry! We must leave this place. They will not be down for long.”

     Turning to the waterfall, then back to the swordsman, he took off running with him. Albeit at a slower pace than he was used to. “Hey, what  _ was _ that shit back there? You another dime-a-dozen sorcerer? Can’t be too good if ya can’t even see!”

     The blind swordsman smiled, holding his sword at his side as they made their way to Shang Tsung’s inner sanctum. “I am no sorcerer but I am looking for one. I am a swordsman guided by the spirits of my ancestors. My name is Kenshi. Kenshi Takahashi.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Raiden stepped to the area in front of Sinister while Liu Kang and Kung Lao stood on the other end. The Thunder God was not pleased at this decision.”This is an outrage!  _ You _ are the threat to Earthrealm,  _ not _ the Shaolin. I honor the rules of Mortal Kombat but you and Shao Kahn have twisted a tradition into a way to merge with Earthrealm. I will not stand for it!”

     “What’s wrong, Raiden? Scared that you will be murdered by the pitiful Shaolin? I can see why you were just a lapdog for the toothless Elder Gods.” Shao Kahn’s laughter spread to the rest of the coliseum, most of the audience craving bloodshed instead of sympathy.

     “Silence, Shao Kahn! You are the bane to the existence of many and will be silenced before this day ends.” Raiden’s red lightning crackled as he gazed to Shao Kahn, shifting his eyes back to Sinister. “I will fight you alongside the Shaolin and end your tyranny for the sake of Earthrealm!”

     “Will you, now? This is a shame to see. I try to make sure this tournament’s spirit is honored and you trample it with empty threats, Raiden. But I suppose that’s to be expected. You don’t honor your so-called gods and your amulet was taken from you by a bucket of bolts. If you will not fight and kill these Shaolin warriors, then they will just kill you.”

     “No! We won’t.” Liu Kang stepped up to speak, prompting boos from the crowd. “Raiden has gone through a great deal of madness to make sure that you would stop trying to affect our realms and that Earthrealm would be saved. Pitting us against one another will not work, demon. YOU will accept OUR challenge for Mortal Kombat.” 

     “Perhaps he is fearful of the Shaolin, Liu Kang.” Kung Lao readied his razor-rimmed hat, entering his fighting stance. “That must be why he sends his housemaids to do the work he can not. I haven’t even seen what this ghoul can do. Hmph! You can not stand against the might of the Shaolin!”

     Frost became enraged at their insults, trying to move to challenge them but Sinister held her back. “You must understand something. I am not bound to the rules of this world or to the rules of this ‘Mortal Kombat’. The reason that I enforced the rules that I did is to simply see which one of you is the strongest and the most worthy to join myself and Achlys. By adjusting to a set of rules similar to your own, I thought that the best warrior would naturally emerge. Unfortunately, all that I see are stubborn Earthrealmers, a simple-minded warlord and a group of misunderstood robots. Even Mileena was not worthy to wield the Nether with her primitive attitude. The only one here that is worthy is Frost.”

     “I grow weary of your words, demon! Prepare to die!” Liu Kang leapt up toward Sinister’s seat with flaming chi enveloping his fist, prepared to silence him once and for all. Just as he reached Sinister, his throat was being squeezed by a black tentacle that came from the fiend’s shadow. The slimy protrusion pulsed and squealed as if alive. Struggling for dear life, Liu Kang tried to tear the tentacle from his neck but the force only made the constriction worse, eventually changing the colors of his face. When Kung Lao tried slicing the tentacle with his hat, he was impaled through the head by one of Frost’s ice spears.

     “Impudent Shaolin rats. Interrupting Lord Maharana is grounds for death.” Frost gave Sinister a slight bow before continuing her observation.

     “You see, the assimilation or the merging of these realms is inevitable. This little challenge isn’t some opportunity for you to stop it from happening or save your respective realms. This is a takeover. I  _ take _ what Achlys needs and you accept that your lives as you know it are  _ over _ . Simple as that.” The large tentacle snapped Liu Kang’s neck, dragging his dead body into Sinister’s shadow. He sank into an inky blackness similar to a rain puddle, vanishing before the eyes of the audience. “Now, since we have thrown away any notion of a tournament or manners, who is next to challenge the inevitable?”

     Raiden’s fury was palpable. The skies blackened and red lightning streaked above the coliseum. With power surging through his body, he aimed a hand at Sinister, ready to rend him to dust with a lightning strike. Every word his lips chanted, every reserve of energy he formed into the skies, he did for Liu Kang. His mind was no longer on savagely avenging and protecting Earthrealm. But on protecting life as a whole. “MONSTER!”

     Raiden felt something different when he shouted at Sinister, his body tingling with an unfamiliar sensation. Everything was warm and slipping away. Soon his vision became slanted, splitting into two completely different images. His legs fell underneath him. Then his waist. His torso. His arms. Everything jumbled into an oddly-cubed mass on the ground. Emerging from his cloaking mechanism was a yellow cyborg, Cyrax. His chest cavity had opened to release a net of plasma to quickly slice Raiden into pieces, disposing of the Thunder God for now.

     Shao Kahn was cautious but Sektor’s own annoyance began to show.  “Enough of this. We have analyzed more than enough data from each participant. You waste our time. Now, Cyrax will kill Shao Kahn. Then Sinister. After that, we will begin the Realm-wide Cyber Initiative.”

     “Hmph! Then let this be ended,  _ robot _ . Cyrax vs. Shao Khan!  **Fight!** ” Shao Kahn’s war hammer swung on Cyrax the moment the fight was announced and a loud gunshot rang through the coliseum.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     “And though he may have passed in this life, The Elder Gods will surely take care of him in the life beyond. He gave his life for the Lin Kuei, an honor that all of us should hope to aspire to.” Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei had gathered in the temple where coffins lined the walls, etched with the names of the Lin Kuei assassins that had gone before them. They all bowed before the latest coffin, Smoke’s name etched along the top. “Dismissed…”

     As the Lin Kuei filed out of the room to give Sub-Zero space in remembering his friend, his own shadow behaved oddly. When he moved to adjust Smoke’s coffin, his shadow remained where it was. Turning about, Sub-Zero could sense something was amiss as the shadow stood upright and took form. Blank pupils looked out from the masculine frame. 

     “You do not deserve to call yourself Sub-Zero.” The shadow walked to Sub-Zero with The Mark of Theta glowing on the left side of his chest, eerily similar to how Sub-Zero wore his Dragon Medallion.

     “Who are you to judge in these sacred grounds?! I tire of you demons!” Sub-Zero entered a fighting stance with tears welling in his eyes, emerging from a furious rage. Cryogenic energy formed in his palms, ready to strike until he heard the creature again.

     “I wore those colors before you, Kuai Liang. Do you not remember your own blood?” The shadow morphed to resemble Sub-Zero’s brother before his corruption, complete with Lin Kuei garb except with a black palette instead of blue.

     Sub-Zero’s cryogenic energy stopped forming, tears finally trailing down his cheeks from what he saw. In a voice much different from his rage-filled tone, he questioned the shadow to confirm his suspicions. “Bi-Han?”


	9. The New Ways Pt. 3

     Havik’s hands were wrist-deep in the stomach of a woman who gurgled her final breaths just moments ago. Her body splayed along the ground, Hotaru and his Guardsmen stood to surround them for protection with roaring flames sounding off in the background. They had ravaged the village of Sun Do in Outworld in order to allow Havik enough blood for his odd ritual. The unsettling calm, dry voice of Havik spoke out to Hotaru as he sifted through the woman’s innards. “Mmm. What was her name?”

     “According to one of the villagers, her name was Li Mei. She was an advocate against Shao Kahn’s invasion against her village and was even planning an uprising. For the sake of order, it does us well that she was extinguished.” Hotaru’s eyes steadily glowed red, watching Havik continue to roll his fingers along her intestines.

     “Li Mei…..what a beautiful young woman. Her death bodes well for the continuance of chaos.” His hands went into a powerful spasm, crushing her organs with more and more blood pooling in the large cavity smashed into her abdomen. Flicking the excess blood into the small pool, he looked at his reflection and the moon that hung overhead. Reiko’s face came into view as he started to question Havik.

     “Does it honestly need to take this long to sate the Kamidogu? It reminds me of those Moroi back when they were first konquered.” Reiko, general of Shao Kahn’s armies, was no pushover. His glowing blue eyes highlighted the black, almost tribal markings on his face. His hair was slicked back, shaved on the sides and featured white highlights in contrast to its natural black. His outfit was strikingly similar to Shao Kahn’s except for the black gloves, boots and pants that modernized his warlord look. A maroon sheen covered his outfit, including the spiked metal bands wrapped around his muscular arms.

     Havik chuckled, dipping his hands into Li Mei’s blood and bringing it up to his face. One inhale of the crimson fluid caused the Chaosrealm Kamidogu to glow beneath his chest, a red haze enveloping him before he took a deep drink of the blood. “You must remember, Reiko, satiety is an illusion when it comes to The One Being. That is why Shao Kahn’s death will serve as an act of mercy. Though he acts through him, it would soon drive him to madness and a most unfortunate hara-kiri.”

     Reiko squinted at Havik, moving closer to him with hands rested on his waist. “And what spares me such a fate? I thought we were going to get rid of Shao Kahn so that order could be restored under me, not drive me to the grave along with him.”

     Havik washed his face with Li Mei’s blood, feeling the still warm substance dripping down his chin and making ripples in the pool that formed in her stomach. He started to chant, seemingly ignoring Reiko’s line of questioning.

     “Havik! I asked you a question. Havik!” Reiko tried to move closer to him but Hotaru and his Guardsmen stepped around Reiko, almost instigating a fight if Havik had not taken a pause in his chanting.

     “Well, you certainly have the mind of a warlord. Nevertheless, you will not share the same fate as Kahn. There is something much more interesting in store for you.” Havik waved Reiko over, prompting Hotaru and his Guardsmen to step aside. He directed Reiko to look at the now glowing pool of blood in Li Mei’s stomach, showing him thousands upon thousands of black dots that flickered with light. “This is your fate, Reiko. This is what is destined for you if The One Being is returned.”

     “What exactly is it I’m looking at, cleric?” Reiko leaned in to see more being visually explained. Stars. Swirling clusters. Constellations. Planets.

     “Eternal Konquest.” Havik dipped a hand into the strange pool of blood, lifting it to Reiko’s lips.

     The general smiled and took a sip of his future.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     “Target neutralized.” Cyrax lowered the double-barrel shotgun that was built into one of his arms, looking at Sinister through the gaping hole blown through Shao Kahn’s head. As the emperor fell to the ground, green energy gathered around his head wound to kickstart the regeneration process. Cyrax’s shotgun receded into his arm, exchanging it for a flamethrower that quickly engulfed Shao Kahn’s body in flame, flame that made Sinister’s eyes widen in surprise. The ethereal blue color of the fire, the peaceful glow and the way it made Shao Kahn’s soul scream told Sinister that things were not as they seemed with the Tekunin.

     The coliseum quaked with the rumble of souls being eradicated by Aether rushing from the metal tube sticking from Cyrax’s arm, turning the emperor’s body to glowing ash in under a minute. The quake stopped and Sinister’s questioning began. “You….how can beings such as YOU wield Aether?!”

     Cyrax’s flames ceased, having him turn to Sinister and open his chestplate to reveal a fragment of the primordial element known as Aether secured within his energy panel. Sektor stepped to stand beside him, staring to Sinister. “Because we do not fear the supernatural. The Cyber Initiative not only made us more efficient but eliminated any fear that comes with us making the realms places of logical progression under one grandmaster. If you believed you would be the first to merge the realms, you are sorely mistaken. You are a virus, one that will be expunged from the realms before our mission continues. Shao Kahn gave us the information we needed to find locations rich with this first element, believing that we could never harness it. But the information we gathered and the precautions we took to secure it allowed us to prove him wrong.”

     Frost could feel her body grow nauseous at the sight of the Aether flames, leaning against the throne seat as Sinister stood to his feet. “Just how much of it have you found?”

     “Enough to kill you and your ilk for as long as the realms exist. Wielding it, however, is a different story. We could only secure enough safety protocols to fit Cyrax with pure Aether. His final mission, Operation Alpha, will be to kill you. Will you accept the challenge or will you send your minion to death first?”  The rest of the Tekunin watched in anticipation, clearing the dead bodies and gore from the field to give the four a clear fighting space.

     Sinister understood the ramification of taking on an Aether-infused warrior such as Cyrax. He was different from the average fighter and extremely unpredictable with his technological background. He also knew that Sektor had done far too much research on him to expect anything other than an outright slaughter. But he also knew the truth about both primordial elements and stood by that truth to step to Cyrax. He grimaced, standing not too  from him, having stepped from his throne to allow Frost to rest there. One of Sinister’s arms morphed into a giant blade, slashing against the gravel to snuff out the Aether flame with thick layers of dirt. “You blaspheme against Achlys with your very existence. I will destroy each and every last one of you.”

     Cyrax’s chestplate closed as he entered a fighting stance, a weak blue glow enveloping his body. “Engage!”

     Sinister was on Cyrax immediately, just inches away from his cyborg body and he could already feel himself begin to sweat from the presence of Aether. His bladed arm met Cyrax’s own buzzsaw, the robot grinding his blades against Sinister’s. Even with his supernatural strength, he was shocked to find that they were beginning to fight on equal ground. They danced around one another, clashing their blades in hopes that one would succeed in slicing the other in two. Sinister took advantage of the next clash and morphed his bladed arm into a throng of tentacles to wrap around Cyrax’s face. Feeling like a handful of burning coals to Sinister, he quickly spun his body around and flung Cyrax into the coliseum wall.

     Smoke rose from his tentacled arm as he seethed in pain, reshaping it back into its humanoid limb. The smoke that covered Cyrax’s recent impact was breached by blue lasers shot from his face, the first catching Sinister off guard and taking a chunk of his shoulder. He fell in one of the first signs of weakness that he had ever shown in the realms. Rushing to rise to his feet, more ocular lasers made from his Aether energy were directed to the invading fiend. The shots that missed caused burning embers to appear along the ground, weakening Sinister in a way he had never felt before.

     Cyrax rushed from the crater in the coliseum wall with unnerving speed, activating the jet propulsion in his boots to send a right hook across Sinister’s jaw. He was sent flying into the coliseum stands to crash against a throng of people who smacked his body and shoved for him to get back into the fight. They shouted and screamed incoherently about wanting him to finish his fight, more worried about being entertained than his actual safety. Enraged, Sinister leaped from the stands and into the air, morphing an arm into a giant ax as he descended upon Cyrax with a massive swing.

     The robot opened his chest panel to reveal the raw source of Aether to Sinister, making him falter in mid-air just enough for Cyrax to move forward with his firing of the same type of Aether net that ensnared Raiden. Sinister tried to slice through it but met far too much resistance to effectively stop it. The speed it came at him and the tight energy bindings overwhelmed him, causing him to crash against the coliseum floor, wrapped in an Aether web. His symbiotic flesh bubbled and burned from being in contact with the other element, having him claw at the ground just to try and escape it.

     Cyrax approached him with Sektor following close behind. “Your regenerative properties, your physical enhancements, everything you are is nullified by the Aether. Now, you will get to understand the crux of Mortal Kombat. Cyrax, finish him.”

     Frost looked on in defiance but was weakened by the Aether embers created moments earlier. Tekunin cyborgs started to make their way to the throne to surround her, standing guard just in case. Taking heed of Sektor’s command,  A large, three pronged robotic arm digitizes itself from his chest, forming into a solid appendage to grab Sinister by his head. The three metal digits cinch against his skull and lift him into the air before slamming him against the ground. It lifts him higher the next time, smashing him against the ground hard enough to crack his skull. The third instance cracked his bones from head to toe, making him a limp, pained creature of the dark.  After the third slam, the mechanical arm dragged Sinister’s bound body into Cyrax’s body, the sounds of whirring blades and powerful gears filling the air around them.  
As Sinister was dragged into Cyrax’s body, the shadow fiend that had entered the realms was soon crushed and grinded by machinery fueled by the mystical energy known as Aether. His screams of pain were muffled by circuitry, grinded to a black pulp and spewed out of his chestplate in bloody chunks that made Frost fall ill. As what remained of Sinister laid on the ground, his body was soon dissolved by the Aether embers flickering in the wind. Cyrax raised his arms in victory and pointed to Frost. “New target acquired”

     “Sinister Maharana has been eliminated. Frost was Lin Kuei but she has betrayed us. She must be eliminated. Kill her and we will return to Earthrealm to begin the global Cyber Initiative.” Sektor stood by to watch Cyrax open his chestplate again, readying the Aether net he had used just moments before as Tekunin cyborgs held Frost against the throne seat. She struggled against them but the amount of ambient Aether was weakening her too much for a proper fight against the trained Tekunin horde. As the net prepared to fire, Frost screamed in agony when a spear of Nether rushed from her sternum and through Cyrax’s chest. Electricity crackled around Cyrax, a mixture of blood and oil running down his armored chassis. When he tried to move, the spear opened into a four-bladed ax, splitting his body into pieces.

     Cyrax’s mechanical body tumbled to the ground, soaked in oil. Frost took note of the feeling in her body, the blood running down her lip and the fading vision. She knew what this was and humbly accepted it. “My...my lord….has chosen...me….Achlys be praised….”

     Hands ripped through Frost’s chest as Sinister crawled out of her body. Drenched in Frost’s icy blood, his body immediately fashioned rapid fire spear strikes into the Tekunin surrounding the throne, hearing them fall while his eyes came to rest on Sektor. “You shall be devoured. But first, you shall bear witness to the power of a true wielder, unlike you.”

     A large group of Tekunin warriors took flight with their rocket boots, all of them rushing Sinister. Raising a hand to them, his eyes glowed with hatred and signaled a blazing torrent of plasma to eradicate the group instantly. ¼ of the coliseum had been erased from the immediate destruction, leaving a clean, sizzling field where there used to be stands.

     Sektor was surprised at Sinister’s revival, believing that he only needed to ensure complete destruction with Aether. But now, he questioned whether or not the being he was dealing with was immortal. Much more data was required and he certainly wouldn’t get it with the rampage that was due on Sinister’s end. He raised his hand to Sinister, shouting to the rest of the Tekunin. “Tekunin! Eliminate the target! All units activate Program Alpha, subroutine K-1-L-L-1-0-5-6!” Sinister aimed his hand at Sektor but his body was already digitizing into a different realm. “The Lin Kuei have not lost this fight, demon. I _will_ have your head.”

     Swarms of the Tekunin suddenly began to surround Sinister, making erroneous technological sounds. Their bodies convulsed at a rapid pace with Cyrax’s Aether starting to glow. Sinister looked out to the coliseum as his red and yellow eyes vanished into his dark sockets, a wide grin stretching across his face. “You will have much more than you could ever hope for.”

     A swirling mushroom cloud of smoke, flame and Aether obliterated the coliseum, Shao Kahn’s Fortress and stretched to the outer edges of The Living Forest. Many Outworld inhabitants were caught in the blast, leaving scorched earth and enough ash to justify genocide. All that remained in the coming days and weeks was a nuclear wind that blew across barren lands, lands that used to be konquered but had now been lost.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Sub-Zero stared at his brother, Bi-Han, in disbelief. Wiping his tears, he was finally able to speak past his sorrows. “What happened to you? When Scorpion killed you---”

     “A being restored me. Sinister Maharana **,** the one who will merge the realms, gave me the life that I’ve been wanting ever since I joined the Lin Kuei. That life can be yours too, Kuai Liang.” He stepped closer to Sub-Zero, shifting back into his Noob Saibot body.

     Sub-Zero took a few steps back, feeling wary about his true appearance. “What? What do you mean? You’ve become a wraith. You aren’t restored…”

     “Oh, but I am. The life of a Lin Kuei warrior is to kill and be killed, to find no other purpose but what the Grandmaster wants. Sektor wants to dominate the realms with the Cyber Initiative. You want to keep the Lin Kuei in the same murderous cycle it’s always been in.”

     “And what...what of you and this _Sinister_? Have you been turned to a murderer, a being without a conscience?” Cryogenic energy started to form around his arms, backing up against Smoke’s coffin.

     “But, Kuai Liang, that is what you are. That is who everyone is throughout the realms. They want death for the most trivial of purposes, becoming antithetical to themselves. I once thought like you did but not anymore. Lord Maharana has shown me what purpose can do to a person and how, if you don’t have one, that you really aren’t a person. Kuai Liang, you are a puppet.” Shadows surged with purple energy around his own fists, the Mark of Theta beating with light against his chest.

     “You misunderstand the purpose of The Lin Kuei to justify your own, twisted desires!”

     “I LIVED that purpose for years and it got me murdered! You must face the truth. Either join Sinister or be assimilated in pieces, just like Shinnok. Just like Quan Chi. Just like the others. I can feel the power in Outworld. The rest of Earthrealm’s pitiful alliances have fallen and you are the only one left to resist against what’s to come, brother. Your decision comes NOW!” A sphere of black energy slammed into Sub-Zero, the latter raising his hands to counter it with cryogenic energy.

     Seeing that he couldn’t freeze the shadow orb, he redirected it to smash against the far wall, eating away at it to create a gaping hole that lead out into the courtyard. He fired multiple blasts of icy energy at Noob, having them all knocked away by his shadow energy. They both came to understand their energy would constantly be at odds, instead both entering fighting stances for a more intimate battle. Noob laughed at Sub-Zero, his muscles tightening. “I have more experience than you dare dream. The Dragon Medallion may help your ice power but you will never be able to boost your skills to top mine.”

     “Then silence yourself and let your fists talk for once, _brother_.” The two entered a harrowing match of martial arts skill, countering one another’s blows with an accuracy that no human could replicate. Their bodies left the ground, pushed off of walls, were hurled through the air and collected bloody bruises along the way. The two brothers gnashed their teeth from the pain of not only absorbing blows but in the knowledge that every strike severed the blood ties that bound them together. With every punch, the word “brother” lost meaning. Each kick hardened their hearts into their respective paths. As a thick spray of black blood rushed from Noob’s mouth, the red and black soaked floor was soon becoming too wet to stand on.

     Rapid panting was accompanied by the sound of crickets in the courtyard, the moon beaming through the hole to highlight their carnage. As Noob slowly regenerated, he formed another orb of shadows, warping the mass with his fingers to make a large, crude hammer. Sub-Zero fell to a knee after realizing that Noob was recovering while he grew weaker. Twirling the hammer in his hand, Noob started to raise it over his brother. “The Shaolin have died. Outworld has perished. The gods have abandoned us. Now, today, The Lin Kuei will end.”

     “As shall you!” Scorpion’s spear punctured Noob’s lung, hooking against the front of his chest. The ninja spectre stood atop the frozen waterfall, yanking Noob’s body from the burial room and into the open. He held tight on the retracting chain with one hand and removed the flesh of his face with the other, revealing a flaming skull. With a power that ignited the skies, Scorpion spewed Hellfire to engulf Noob Saibot’s body. It charred not only his physical form but his spirit as well, something that shocked Noob into fighting back against his captive. But even with his flailing limbs and shadow power, he stood no chance against Scorpion’s wrath.

     As the flames ceased, the remaining wisps of smoke that were Noob Saibot’s body was blown away in the icy winds of the night. Scorpion fitted the flesh back to his skull, leaping down from the ice to join Sub-Zero in the burial room. He helped him up, placing an arm around to keep him standing. Sub-Zero was shocked at Scorpion’s behavior, pulling away initially but soon giving his uncharacteristic generosity a chance. Scorpion looked to Smoke’s coffin with arched brows. “Like it or not, The Lin Kuei is slowly dying, Sub-Zero.”

     He wanted to rebut, wanted to tell him that he was wrong and that they would rebuild. But with so many corrupted members turning away from the clan and those who remained loyal dying each day, Sub-Zero could no longer deny the words that Scorpion spoke to him. The anger that had welled up in his heart was creating a new path, a new way of perceiving the world. “Is this how we will die, Scorpion? Will we all be swallowed by the darkness? Both of our clans...they’re…”

     “All that matters is that _we_ remain.” He took Sub-Zero’s hand into his, turning to look him in the eye. “We will carry on the blood and fire, the honor and purpose of our clans. Alone, we will perish just like them. But _together_ , we can stop the realms from being devoured and restore the peace that once was. But...that all depends on whether or not you’re ready to carry the entirety of the Lin Kuei on your shoulders. To do what must be done in order to find your true self, like I have.”

     Sub-Zero released his hand, lightly pushing him off to stand on his own two feet. Cryogenic energy flowed along his body, giving him a veil of mist that frosted the blood-spattered floor. He walked to the entrance of the burial room, pushing one door open. He paused when Scorpion spoke.

     “What are you going to do?”

     Sub-Zero formed a sword of ice in his right hand as tears ran down his face, his soul awash with a new form of justice. “Honor my clan.”

     From a night of bloodshed, a new team surfaced. In the midst of devastation, a deadly alliance was born.

 

**TO BE KONTINUED**


End file.
